Not a surprise at all, Mark!

Ever since i saw Mad Dog & Glory i liked chicago. I wouldnt mind living there.... If i had a good job in a good nhood etc.....

Somebody has sent Cubs owner Tom Ricketts a "message"...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-le...18231--mlb.html

Not quite as subtle as the Red Sox jersey in NY, but it sends a message!


Yankees donate jersey

First, a skinned goat hanging on Harry Carey's statue three years ago and now this. No clue on if this is some dumbass cub fan who believes in curses or a prank pulled by a white sox/card or pissed off red sox fan.

By the way, Rickets has Jorge Soler's bat to protect him if it is a threat.

Okay, WTF?.. Yesterday morning was 36 frosty degrees and right now it is 87 degrees!

Hey you Chumbalones! Ivan from the BB is moving to The Windy City in a couple of months. Give him some insight and advice from your experiences in Chicago living. Let's try and help him out Chicago Style...

Ivan - maybe you can list what you are kind of looking for? Do you have a family? Are you solo? You don't have to give your blood type and finger print but some neighborhoods "cater" to specific demographics: young families, professionals, singles, artists, yuppies, etc...

Big changes coming to WGN Radio...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-wgn-shakeup-20130820,0,1119987.story

How Irish is Canaryville today? Never been around there.

Hey, here we go. This is what I'm after.

- I am single and don't care if my place is tiny
- Urban area, not all spread out like a suburb (Elmwood Park looks really promising in that respect - nice like a suburb, but still pretty urban)
- Low crime
- Rent under 1000 bucks a month (Lakeview and Rogers Park seems like good bets when it comes to this)
- Walkable (no car necessary, easy access to trains etc. - again Elmwood Park looks good in this way)
- I don't want to live in some place that is a trendy arts district or whatever, I hate that hipster shit
- I don't want to be surrounded by swarms of fucking college students
- A place where there are lots of people 30-45 would be nice... being the oldest person around even though I'm only 33 was one of the reasons I just now fled central Columbus

See? I ain't asking for much!

I've actually found a couple places that look promising and I'll ask about their locations here after I talk to their landlords a bit.

Don't know much about Rogers Park but I know that you could do a lot worse than Lakeview. LV has everything you described above, Ivan - if you want to live in the city. I don't know much about Elmwood Park...

Anyone ever been to the heart of Italy (24th and Oakley)? Another Italian spot but lesser known. I've never been there but how is it today?

The richest suburbs have the most customers in Chicago. People think most drugs are in the slums LOL.

If your not going to palermos 95th street Oaklawn Chicago the original restaurant your nobody. Best pizza and knowing the late deceased owners son who is now owner is great.

Here is the link to the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame located on Taylor Street in the heart of Little Italy Chicago.

http://www.niashf.org/

Very interesting stuff.

Mark, as a fan of the Val Kilmer/Michael Douglas film "The Ghost and The Darkness", it's my understanding that the stuffed remains of the lions are on display in Chicago. Do you know anything about that?? Have you ever seen them?

Sicilian babe..yes and yes...:)

That's very cool. I'll have to make it there one day

SB - 12th Street is right on the money. Every kid that grew up within 50 miles of Chicago went to the Field Museum on a field trip for school. Of course, when you are older and see those lions today, the first thing you say is; "Wow, they looked a lot bigger when I was in third grade!" Here is some great pics I found of the two lions...

http://www.lionlamb.us/tsavo/tsavopix.html

Wow! Thanks, Mark. One day, maybe I'll get there. My husband went to Chicago once on business and loved it - said it was a great city with some of the best restaurants! If he ever gets sent there again, I'll try to join him.

He used to travel quite a bit years ago. Then, I felt the kids were too small for both of us to leave. Now that's no longer an issue, and his company has cut back on travel!

It's hard to believe but it was nine years ago that the GBB had it's outing to Chicago.

My first wife was from Chicago so I spent a fair amount of time there. It's a good town in which to eat and drink.

But you'll always have your night in the ER...

Believe it or not, that was September 11th.

Field Museum lotsa fun as a kid and I loved taking my daughter there when she was little..:)

"WMAQ is gonna make me rich!"

You Windy City guys will know exactly what that means...

Mark recalls...

Quote:

"WMAQ is gonna make me rich!" You Windy City guys will know exactly what that means...

Bob Pittman was the 'boy wonder' program director at WMAQ who conceived that promotion. Pittman would later be the driving force behind the creation of MTV.

Ivan -- where will you be working in Chicago? Is this a 'permanant' move or a temporary assignment? If temporary, how long do you think you'll be here?

tony b.

Thanks, TonyB! Cool info. Ivan - listen to Tony. He is one of the guys I told you that could answer any question for you way better than me.

WMAQ 670 AM radio. I guess an explanation is in order... Okay, to the best of my recollection, WMAQ was a country radio station back in the 70's in Chicago. They would randomly dial phone numbers (long before caller ID) and if you picked up the phone and answered; "WMAQ is gonna make me rich!" You won big time cash prizes. If you answered; "Hello?" you were disqualified automatically - even if you followed the hello with the phrase that pays.

Then they gave away thousands of bumper stickers and if you were spotted by the WMAQ promotions team on the road, they announced your license plate number over the air and you had a certain amount of time to call in and claim your prize! By the way, if you ever changed that station in my dad's car there would be hell to pay. The old WMAQ bumper sticker matched the colors on the brown panel board station wagon!

My wife tells me that during the run of this contest, her grandfather practically run over people to answer the phone. He was convinced he would win and didn't want anyone else screwing it up for him. Bless his dear departed heart - he never did win the contest.

Looks like Mario Batali's "Eataly" opening soon in Chicago...

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/07/12/eataly-construction-is-underway.php

[quote=12thStreet]Field Museum lotsa fun as a kid and I loved taking my daughter there when she was little..:)

We just took our daughter to the Sheed, man I forgot how much it costs to have a day there but there's nothing like it and I suggest it for anybody around here.

Hey Tony,

I work at home running my business from my computer so I can live pretty much anywhere I want as long as I have internet access. I'll probably stick around for good if I like it. I'm moving because I'd rather live in a real city than the annoying college town I've spent most of my adult life in (you feel seriously out of place here if you're over 30 and not some kind of yuppie/hipster), and my mother's family is from Chicago, so I have roots/ties/relatives there. Also, my girlfriend moved there.

I see you live in Elmwood Park - I am strongly tempted to move there actually, it looks perfect based on what I'm after. Plus there's a ton of Polacks there according to Wikipedia, so I'll fit right in.