Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
Cirque du Soleil's KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities will be in Chicago under the Big Top at United Center from Aug. 6 to Sept. 20, and you could win two free tickets to attend. Visit and "like" the Gaper's Block Facebook page for details.
Help no-kill dog rescue group One Tail at a Time open their first adoption center in West Bucktown this summer! They aim to raise $70K before their proposed open date of Aug. 1. Previously relying on foster homes to take care of pooches before adoption, this will enable the group to rescue more dogs from Chicago Animal Care & Control before they're euthanized.
Ravenswood shop Alapash Home & Terrariums crafts vibrant little homes for air plants and cacti within small and large glass structures, making for gorgeous and low-maintenance gifts.
Still not cheap, but Specimen has some of its smaller "hornlet" and "hornling" speakers on sale, for those who want to listen to Andrew Bird's music in its natural environment.
A local documentary film house, 137 Films, followed some FermiLab scientists around for a day in a new doc called Science at Work. (No need to head to the box office, either, as you can watch the film on You Tube.)
CustomMade.com is a marketplace for furniture, art and other custom-made and commissioned work. Plenty of the posted projects were either made or reside here.
Haptic Lab has a line of city quilts that outline the streets of cities in stitches. Chicago's quilt runs from 26th Street up to Lawrence, and west to about Cicero.
The mastermind behind the portrait of the Rahmfather delivered to Tribune columnist John Kass has revealed himself — via a note in the mouth of a stuffed fish, no less.
Apparently, actor Josh Hutcherson, who will play "Peeta" in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, has two stalkers from the Chicago area. His Christmas dinner with his family in Kentucky was more interesting this year than he anticipated.
Artist Ron English reimagines Tony the Tiger, the Kellogg's mascot created by Leo Burnett, as an obese over-indulger in his own sugary cereal. The vinyl figure is available at Rotofugi.
Spoonflower.com is a place where designers can create their own design and have it printed onto their choice of fabric. They're currently running a contest to have folks vote for their favorite city insIpired designs. Lots of Paris and Amsterdam, but there are a fewChicago-inspireddesigns, and even one of Berwyn.
When Santa's not in a sleigh, he's totally a bike winter fan. Don your fuzziest of red hats or your elfiest of shoes and head out to the Santa Rampage bike ride on 12/17 starting at the Twisted Spoke downtown. Only fully-dressed Santas, elves, or dreidels are allowed (homemade costumes are completely fine). Details in Slowdown.
OK, last vintage toy post for awhile: H. Fishlove & Co., the company behind fake vomit -- which was created at Marvin Glass' studio (previously) -- and chattering teeth (previously) lives on as Fun, Incorporated, which also has a bunch of other wacky items and magic tricks to sell you.
Lightning struck in Rogers Park this morning and took out some poor defenseless chimney bricks near Pratt and Greenview at the Lake Shore School. Luckily, no one appears to have been injured. Transmission contributor Dan Snedigar took some pictures of the debris.
Cards Against Humanity is a question game similar to Apples to Apples designed by Max Tempkin. It's free to download, but if you fund its Kickstarter, you get a deluxe edition. UPDATE: Max writes to note that six other people were involved in the game's design.
So you got some new gadgets for the holidays and the ones you bought two years ago are, like, totally obsolete--a common 21st century problem. Don't trash them, though--Chicago Surplus Computer is offering computer recycling on January 8 at 3140 North Central. Computer disposal is free, and the easing of your green conscience doesn't cost a thing, either.
The Needle Shop is collecting handmade, kid-sized blankets for Project Night Night, a charity that distributes childhood essentials -- like books, stuffed animals and blankets -- to homeless children. You can drop off crib-sized (or smaller) blankets at The Needle Shop, 2054 W. Charleston, through December 30.
I'm going by anecdotal evidence, but it seems like a lot of people move around September -- warm their house with these suggestions from local gift shops, compiled by Time Out Chicago.
There is an invisible dagger-wielding dwarf running rampant on Chicagoland streets who seems to be waiting in the bushes for cyclists to crash. One got me two weeks ago when I broke my arm after falling off my bike on the way home from work. I didn't get a good look at him, as he was invisible, but based on Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal's description of him, I'm betting we got jabbed by the same bastard.
Show some love for your parents, grandparents or ancestors and your hometown with Formula Werks' "Made In" shirts, giving you five ways (English, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, and Ukrainian) to say you're "Made in Chicago."
Towers Productions is developing a series with weird science suppliers American Science and Surplus, and they're looking for customers who buy stuff at the stores to build interesting doohickeys, gadgets, and gizmos. Interested parties can contact Becky Â
Street poet/Muppet, Kermit once remarked "it ain't easy being green," but apparently it's even harder being a mascot. Days after a woman dressed in a Porky Pig costume at Six Flags Great America was assaulted, the Chicago Bulls mascot Benny was shoved and knocked down by an unidentified male in Tinley Park on Wednesday evening. At least he wasn't wearing a LeBron costume in Cleveland...
Rotofugi and Squibbles INK have been been hard at work on Roto-A-Matic, a Mold-A-Rama machine that's being refurbished to create custom artist molds. Meanwhile, the Mold-A-Rama in Lincoln Park Zoo changed from a yellow lion to a green gorilla this year.
Lightology, the locally based largest contemporary lighting showroom in North America, is having a design contest. The concept must feature at least one foot of Lightology's LED Soft Strip, and prizes include a $2,000 Lightology gift card and a feature in i4 design magazine. More details here.
The Field Museum's chatty T-Rex named Sue is turning 10 years old (well, give or take 60 million) and the museum's having a party and a fancy online auction.
Apartment Therapy is looking for some guys who have a room in need of a do-over. Lucky for you, Chicago is one of their five selected metro areas (but sorry, ladies, this project is for boys only). Apply by May 24.
Center for Economic Progress provides free personalized tax services for individuals making less than $25,000 and families with income less than $50,000. Their centers are staffed with IRS-certified volunteers and are ready for the final sprint to the deadline.
Whether you're celebrating or trying to forget, make tacos a part of your April 15th. Taco Del Mar (3955 N. Broadway) is giving one away: head to the website to print out your coupon.
Men born in April to the end of the year, you're in luck: Halo [for Men] offers select free spa extras on your birthday (such as as shampoo or brow wax) with the purchase of another salon or spa service.
Are you the master of flip cup? Form a team of four (or sign up solo and meet new friends) for Flip Madness — a flip cup tournament on 3/27 at Mad River benefiting Rock for Kids. Beer, food, entertainment provided. Details in Slowdown.
Got an old prom or formal dress just collecting dust in your closet? Help make an Chicagoland girl have a happy prom night by donating your dress to the Glass Slipper Project. Dress donations are being accepted now in many locations around the city and suburbs.
Not that you need another reason to vote in Chicago's elections Tuesday, but Challengers Comics offers a 15% Civic Duty Discount to to anyone who can present a voter receipt.
Two years ago today, the portion of of Montrose Avenue adjacent to the Brown Line station caved in after a massive water main break. Commemorate the event, if you wish, with a newly minted t-shirt.
For those creatively inclined Valentine's Day lovers, Andersonville and Lakeview card and frame shops Foursided and Twosided want to see your best handmade Valentine's cards. Winner gets $50 gift certificate. Deadline 2/7. Details and rules.
Tired of freezing your hand off in order to use your touchscreen device in the cold weather? Here's a clever Instructable for making a conductive glove finger. [via]
Gatorade may be commonly associated with Florida; it is, after all, named for the state's university mascot. The company that manufactures it however, good ole Quaker Oats, is based right here in Chicago and just so you know, we're standing by our number one pitch man, Tiger Woods.
Scared Panda is a new t-shirt company putting a twist on the standard Threadless model: submit a design and if it's picked you get $100 and a shirt -- and the charity of your choice gets 10 percent of the profits. Their first design is an homage to the Tamale Guy, which benefits Esperanza Community Services.
Threadless and Griffin have teamed up to put the former's t-shirt designs onto the latter's iPhone 3G/S covers. The first two designs went on sale today -- and we've got one of each to give away! Details after the jump...
All you have to to enter is send an email to contests@gapersblock.com with "Threadless" as the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body. We'll choose two winner as random at midnight tonight. Good luck! UPDATE: Congrats to Nina and Kevin!
The holidays are coming, and what better way to show your spirit for the season and the city with these charming Chicago Flag Snowflake cards from local paper good entrepreneurs 16 Sparrows.
This Saturday (10am-noon), gather up your unwanted paper debris and head down to the parking lot in front of Jewel, Kmart, and Staples near Ashland and Division: WPB is teaming up with Secure EcoShred to tear up your printed materials for free. 3 box/bag limit, $5 box/bag after that.
No Manches is a t-shirt company specializing in designs with cultural relevance to Latin Americans -- but I think just about Chicagoan can get behind this shirt.
Crain's recent headline, "Midway sale to Warner Bros. approved by court," made me a little worried about the state of the airline industry ... until I clicked on the link.
Lakeview's Eye Spy Optical is offering a couple of environmentally friendly ways to save money this month. Bring in your old prescription specs, which will be donated to New Eyes for the Needy, and get $25 off a new pair. Or if you take the Brown Line to the newly reopened Paulina stop or ride your bike to their store, they'll give you 10% off a new pair of prescription glasses.
The Comedy and Everything Else crew gives props to our local comedy scene in their latest episode, as Chicago-born funny men Jimmy Pardo and Jimmy Dore reminisce about their early days of doing stand-up around the city.
Many have been affected by the economy, and independent boutique Soko Fashion is no exception. Stop by for 40% off their entire inventory until the store's closing at the end of the month.
The Cook County Sheriff's latest sting to arrest those with outstanding warrants involved a "sweepstakes" called Shoptastic Solutions. When people attempted to collect their prizes, they were arrested.
Stumped on what to get that hypochondriac on your Christmas list? How about a giant, plush microbe, created by University of Chicago law school grad Drew Oliver. Choose from The Common Cold, E. coli or Black Death. Hours of fun...
Know a University of Chicago student or alumnus? Know two or more? Print out these U of C-centric Bingo cards for them to enjoy during the holidays. Then stand back and watch the geek-tacular fun ensue.
It's no CHI-TONW, but Jade Dragon's done it again, this time misspelling "tomorrow" on a customer. The tattoo artist insists the word was misspelled by the client. A trial will sort it all out.
At first I thought it was an Onion article, but, readers, pat yourselves on the back. You made someone's visit so enjoyable they wrote the Trib to tell you.
And, more importantly, show up your siblings, by eschewing the half-wilted, unsustainably harvested bunch of red carnations you always get her, in favor of a beautiful card showcasing Chicago’s community gardens. Your $25 donation to NeighborSpace, a nonprofit urban land trust that protects many of Chicago’s urban oases, gets Mom the card and an invitation to a fall tour of city gardens. Slackers, take note: card orders must be received by Tuesday, May 6, at 10 a.m.
If you're out on the town and don't have a web-enabled phone, you can still access the Internet via a service that doesn't require calling that friend who's always online. ChaCha is a new human search service you can text with any question. So if you're wondering when the Chicago Diner closes or curious about the middle name of your alderman, they'll text the answer back to you. Also, if you don't already know, you can text GOOGL (46645) for business addresses and phone numbers.
Padma Lakshmi, host of everyone's favorite reality television chef competition, apparently has a dangerous job. Also, "out of principle," she won't say "pack your knives and go" to people on the street. So, um, don't ask her to say that when you see her walking around town.
What makes the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day? No, it's not ground-up leprechauns. It's a vegetable-based dye. In the early days though it was a substance called Fluorescein.
Thank you for considering my impressionable mind when editing your fine paper, but you've gone too far. My first glimpse of over-editing was when you changed Shia LaBeouf's "asshole" to the goofy "nincompoop." I was then a little offended when you switched (what I assume was) Buddy Guy's "nowhere" with "[any]where." And then you edited Sarah Silverman's "f*cking" to "doing the deed with." As with my asterisk, if you must edit, could you please stick with the intended meaning?
Who else has been getting a ton of Facebook updates about Thrillist coming to Chicago? Apparently, Gawker Media is introducing its own dose of Daily Candy soon, but you can sign up now if your sweet tooth can stand it.
An extra Friday is always cause for celebration, especially when it helps keep our calendar in alignment with the earth's revolution around the sun. The last time we had a February with five Fridays was 1980; check out Wikipedia for more fun leap year facts.
If your name is John Smith, This American Life would like you to email them at johnsmith@thislife.org with a few words about yourself. They may include you in an upcoming show about people with your name.
I wonder if my landlord reads Gaper's Block. If so, he should be reminded that Section 10-8-180 of Chicago city code requires every person "having charge of any building or lot of ground in the city abutting upon any public way or public place shall remove the snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of such building or lot of ground."
A weird, unnecessary email appeared in my inbox at 12:29 a.m. Friday morning from the CTA warning me of Thursday's late-afternoon storms, advising me to "allow for extra travel time on CTA service this evening." Thanks for the timely warning, folks.
Apple's new iPod releases include an interesting partnership with Starbucks that will hit Chicago in March 2008. When you walk into a megalocoffee shop, you'll be able to see information about each song that's playing in the store as it plays and, of course, buy it and other iTunes songs. If you're interested in more information about the program, most pages on Apple's site currently list the wrong URL, so go here instead.
If so, make a short video about your collection and submit it to apartments.com for a chance to win $20,000. At the time of writing, no one's submitted anything, so your odds are good at being an early front runner.
Calling all drywallers: are you sick and tired of not getting the spotlight for your craft? Here's your chance for glory and a $5,000 prize through the "The Best of the Best Drywaller" competition, sponsored by USG, the folks who make Sheetrock. Qualifying bouts are currently being held at hardware stores all over the city, with the selection of the top drywaller taking place from 1pm to 5pm on August 19 at Harrison Park, 1824 South Wood.
What do Vegas, Bangkok, Mumbai and Krakow have in common? Well according to the Global Language Monitor they are all more important to fashion than Chicago. Nuts.
If you've ever wondered why you've never seen a white Chicago Police Department horse or at least what being a mounted policeperson is like, this article's for you.
Speaking of consuming huge amounts of food, the Trib's Monica Eng sampled 253 dishes at the Taste. The experiment cost the paper a grand total of $1,022. I'm sure it was a lot of really healthy food.
A circuit court judge has upheld the right of a former member of the Walgreens family to keep her three pigs on her Lake Forest property until at least 2011. Her next-door neighbors and 300 other locals aren't pleased. The decision will be appealed.
The National Weather Service has enlisted the help of the FBI to track down a person who is submitting bogus weather reports in Illinois and Wisconsin. The reports have caused the service to issue erroneous storm warnings. If you can't trust weather reports, what can you trust?
Now that the Buckingham Fountain is going full blast, maybe you'd like to astound your friends with some related trivia. For example, it opened on May 26, 1927, and its computer's name is the "Honeywell Excel-Plus."
A revolt is underway in the suburbs. The target: new sidwalks. After all, with sidewalks, "who knows what you'd be encouraging to come through?" The Trib's online readers are having none of it, with approximately 90% saying sidewalks in neighborhoods are "a positive addition."
Maybe we're going a little overboard with all this Cicada Mania, but if you absolutely can't wait till the end of the month for the emergence of Brood XIII, the Trib has the answer; cicadas in origami (PDF file).
Several cars in Printers Row received smiley face makeovers last night. The Trib astutely predicts "if the taggers are caught, there will be no smiles."
If you've traveled around the world "crossing every meridian of longitude in the same direction" and are interested in meeting others like you, you're in luck. Chicago has its own chapter of the Circumnavigators Club. Oh, and your travel doesn't have to be in the same trip.
Michael Horvich is more than a supernumerary, he's the curator of Michael's Museum. Unfortunately, the physical museum is currently not open to the public, presumably due to high demand because of a recent Tribune article. For now, enjoy the photographs and lists.
Congressperson Tim Walberg (R-MI), recently noted most of Iraq is "reasonably under control." Well, you know, "at least as well as Detroit or Chicago ... or Harvey, Illinois."
Oak Brook's very own McDonald's seems to be having some trouble on one of its British websites. (Unfortunately, the item on the original website is in Flash, so we can't link to it.)
"It started out as a harmless fling. He was a male cicada in love, she was a female cicada with needs." Could this possibly be from a real newspaper? Find out now.
If you're planning on attending concerts at the Ravinia Festival this summer, you may want to check the schedule [pdf] extra early this year. Why, you ask? Cicadas.
If you're looking for the toniest neighborhood for your next real estate purchase, maybe you should check the Chicago Business High End Homes section. The feature includes maps, photos and sale prices for the most expensive homes in the region in 2006.
Hoffman Estates-based EA Chicago is coming out with a new video game called Def Jam: Icon. In it you can pick your favorite real life rapper and stomp the crap out of your least favorite real life rapper. Fun. As far as I can tell, it seems sort of like Hood 2 Hood and Don Diva combined in video game form. An additional venue in which, to paraphrase Chuck D from a recent documentary, Black death is being pimped by corporations.
It's 1961 and the communists have overthrown the government of the United States of America. Prepare yourself for the U.S.S.A.! What is the communists' first step? Move the government to Merchandise Mart! As J. Edgar Hoover says, read this comic now in order to "help us recognize and detect communists as they attempt to infiltrate the various segments of our society."
It's only February, but the Daily Southtown has already given cause for celebration (or is that panic?): "Snowmageddon has arrived!" Bonus points awarded for their photo of kids ramping their sled off of a folding table.
This month's Chicago Magazine contains a funny little feature providing high school portraits of area notables like Dave Eggers, Liz Phair, Harold Ramis and Donald Rumsfeld.
How's this for an unusual look into the lives of our senior senator and his three high-powered roommates! Juicy tidbits include Durbin killing mice with his bare hands and his insistence on having a big screen television.
Those wacky Sun-Times staffers are at it again with this year's monkey stock market picks. As you'd expect, "Mr. Adam Monk," the primate in question, has beaten the major indices for the last four years. After you take in the monkey madness, pull a stock out of a hat and enter their contest for most appreciating stock.
At last year's recent DIY Trunk Show, I made my usual rounds looking at who was doing what. The quality keeps getting better and better every year, a testament to those who organize the Trunk Show. However, one vendor caught my eye — Pink Loves Brown. The goods were smart, well-designed, retro-modern and quality. Nicole Balch puts out some really nice stuff — her apartment is quite inspiring, an extension of her work and aesthetic.
I don't know how many times I've been to the Quimby's site, but I'd never noticed the "live at quimby's" section until this morning. It has audio recordings from almost two-dozen events, although the one I really wanted to hear (Al Burian) is broken.
Console Camp, a new, Chicago-based game console blog, carries news and will provide details about the best camping spots for the Wii and the PS3. And in the spirit of democratic media, you can even post to it via email!