Iggy Pop chats with Dinah Shore

Yes, Iggy did chat with Dinah - it happened in 1977. For your amusement....

winter parking fun

Don't forget: Chicago's street parking ban starts Saturday. About 107 miles of Chicago streets will be tow-away zones from 3 am to 7 am from 12/1 to 4/1 . Another 500 miles of streets are designated no parking when at least 2 inches of snow is on the ground. If you're thinking of parking on a main street, double check - read the signs.

"These arterial routes are as important to Chicago as your arteries are to you," said Matt Smith, chief spokesman for the Department of Streets and Sanitation for Chicago. "When you have parking on these streets, emergency vehicles can't get through, just like a blockage in your arteries."

If you ignore the signs and park in the wrong place, you could get hit with a $150 towing fee, a $50 ticket, $10 storage fee daily and relocation of the vehicle.

Jungle Boogie on Soul Train

The video quality on this one isn't great, but the outfits and the moves are a trip.

Click here to enjoy.

send a message to Stroger

The Tribune did us a fine service today by giving us the scoop on which of the Cook County Board members seem likely to rubber stamp Todd Stroger's quest for a tax increase of nearly $900M. Eight board members have made it clear that they think the county is already collecting enough in taxes. The other nine could use our input. I've included their contact info and Stroger's below. More info is included in this Tribune editorial.

Please vote with your dialing or typing fingers.

Todd Stroger: thstroger@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-6400 and 312-603-5500.

Earlean Collins, West Side, west suburbs: ecollins@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-4566 and 773-626-2184.

William Beavers, South Side and south suburbs: wbeavers@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-2067 and 773-731-1515,

Jerry "Iceman" Butler, Near South Side, south suburbs: jbutler@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-6391

John Daley, South and Southwest Sides, southwest suburbs: jdaley@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-4400

Roberto Maldonado, North and Northwest Sides: rmaldonado@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-6386 and 773-395-0143,

Joseph Mario Moreno, Southwest Side, Cicero: jmoreno@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-5443 and 773-927-7154

Joan Patricia Murphy, south suburbs: jmurphy@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-4216 and 708-389-2125

Deborah Sims, South Side, south suburbs: dsims@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-6381 and 708-371-4251

Robert Steele, Near North, Near West and Near South Sides: rsteele@cookcountygov.com, 312-603-3019 and 773-722-0140

holiday creep

Why do the retail sector and certain segments of our population need to stretch out the holidays so much? I started seeing Halloween store displays at Labor Day, and Christmas stuff before Halloween. I'd be perfectly happy if I only saw holiday lights from around 12/10 to just after 1/1.

WLIT radio's all-Christmas-music format (started 2 weeks ago) makes me gag. When I go to the pool, they're now playing it there. Uggghhhh!!!! Makes me glad my head is underwater most of the time while I'm there.

IMO, the holidays are more special and meaningful if they are confined to short and distinct periods. And we've got enough
Hallmark holidays already.

fixing a blight

I noticed an excellent letter to the editor in Thursday's Sun-Times. He made some good points about TIFs, including the expiration of the Central Loop TIF in 2008 and its diversion of over $100M from the city budget last year. The purpose of TIFs, at least in theory, is to improve blighted areas. What part of the Central Loop is more blighted than the CTA?

Can anyone give me a good answer as to why none of this $100M+ was offered to the CTA? If this TIF is continued, it's time to start speaking up. For the city to put so much money towards the "superstation" at Block 37 and a paltry $3M towards the CTA in general is rather shortsighted, considering the key role that the CTA plays in the city's vitality. It's time for King Richie to agree to fork over a bit more. Today would not be too soon.

rockin' fun Friday

Click here for a rockin' Friday video. Happy Friday!

a victory for nature in the Sierras

A major piece of wildlife habitat near Lake Tahoe has been saved from development. Read more here.

fuzzy Friday

My two cats are not exactly pals and they have their turbulent moments. It was refreshing to see them sharing some peaceful time.

a loss for the neighborhood

This morning I got out for a walk to some places I hadn't seen in a while, since my knee surgery has left me less mobile for a while. I've missed going to Cafe Luna and was going to stop in for a while today. As I crossed the tracks at 99th St., I saw an unwelcome sight: paper over the windows at Luna. They've closed. The signs in the window said that they've decided to relocate, their equipment is for sale, and the Beverly All Stars will now be bringing jazz to Beverly Bakery Cafe on Wednesday nights (10528 S. Western).

I really will miss having Cafe Luna in the neighborhood. Starbucks doesn't create the same inviting atmosphere. When Starbucks opened on 103rd, I hoped that it would not kill off Luna. To the proprietors of Luna: thank you for creating a special place. I wish you well in your future ventures.

a different shade of green

Today's San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about a new green building that has the potential to give green architecture and construction a major boost.