Staff columnists
Ask Amy
Canoodling son is a serious buzz kill for dad - August 5, 2011 - Dear Amy: I made an unaccustomed stop at an out-of-the-way restaurant last week for a cold beer on a hot day.
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Fred Mitchell's Around Town
Bears newcomers try to fit in - July 31, 2011 - This is the time of year when football coaches typically refer to new players by their uniform numbers instead of their last names.
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Barbara Brotman
Doctors hope new CPR method puts lifesaving technique in everyone's hands - August 1, 2011 - The fellow in the hospital bed looked pretty poorly. His mouth was frozen in a strange grin and his skin tone was waxy. Rubbery, really.
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Steve Chapman
The 10th Amendment and phony federalism - August 4, 2011 - The 10th Amendment to the Constitution is like the skinny teenage girl who blossoms over the summer and suddenly finds herself besieged by suitors. Once ignored, it has found a host of champions among Republican presidential candidates who are...
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Teddy Greenstein
18 holes with Charles Woodson - August 6, 2011 - KOHLER, Wis. — Short of making a birdie or getting attacked by snakes, Charles Woodson experienced it all on the front nine at Blackwolf Run's River Course — a 300-yard drive, chunked irons, thinned irons, two pars, a triple bogey, etc.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Don't judge ex-Bear Bradley by his cover - August 6, 2011 - All former Bears wide receiver Mark Bradley remembers was staring up at the ceiling lights of the hospital as they wheeled him in a gurney down the hallway of the emergency room.
Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
A Kennedy on a quest to do more - July 31, 2011 - I had just 30 minutes to talk with Christopher Kennedy, the outgoing chief of Chicago's Merchandise Mart and the eighth of Robert F. Kennedy's 11 children. So I got to the point.
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Philip Hersh
Timing not right for U.S. in 2020 - July 1, 2011 - While a U.S. bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics still seems very unlikely, USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun didn't rule it out this week.
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Jon Hilkevitch's Getting Around
Zeppelin impresses at Oshkosh air show - August 1, 2011 - — Captain Jim Dexter takes passengers up for a spectacular 360-degree view of the earth aboard an aircraft he dubs "the ultimate skybox."
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
I Just Work Here: Handling the office stinker - August 1, 2011 - Did anyone consider just painting the debt ceiling the same color as the walls? It really would make the whole room look bigger.
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Chris Jones
Stephen Sondheim wins Tribune Literary Prize - August 5, 2011 - Stephen Sondheim is the winner of the 2011 Tribune Literary Prize, an award given specifically for his writing, as distinct...
Gregory Karp
Clark Howard's advice? Spend small, live large - August 5, 2011 - Among advice-givers who talk about smart spending, Clark Howard is perhaps the dean.
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John Kass
No surprise: Disappoint-mints strike liberals as bad taste - August 5, 2011 - Corrections and clarifications: In a Page 2 column on Wednesday, John Kass incorrectly asserted that by raising the federal debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, President Barack Obama had grabbed "reality by the...
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Julia Keller
Fitzgerald, in his own words - August 6, 2011 - Popcorn. Check.
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
In tune with tradition - August 5, 2011 - Wandering through the one large and a couple of small workshops that make up the Chicago School of Violin Making in Skokie, it is impossible not to be struck by the quiet intensity and dedication of the 26 people hunched over work benches and...
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Greg Kot
Lollapalooza Day 1: Hello, Brazil, and Coldplay says 'So long' to Amy Winehouse - August 6, 2011 - Day 1 of Lollapalooza 2011 is in the books, as the first of 130 bands played on eight stages Friday in Grant Park. Attendance was maxed out – with 90,000 people expected each of three days at the festival. Here’s how Friday went down,...
Gail MarksJarvis
Know your options to repay student loans - August 5, 2011 - Q: I will soon have to begin repaying my student loans for undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because the total is around $82,000, I fear that I will never be able to pay it off. The statements I have received in the mail recommend I pay $900...
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Nina Metz
Whatever happened to Joan and Bette? - August 5, 2011 - "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" hit movie theaters in the fall of 1962 and defied preconceived notions of studio bosses who assumed moviegoers would have little if any interest in seeing a pair of celluloid hotshots past their prime ham it up...
Clarence Page
Recipe for budget fights - August 3, 2011 - A "sugar-coated Satan sandwich." That's what Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, called the bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling —as he announced he was voting for it.
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Michael Phillips
Another McDonagh finds cinematic success in 'The Guard' - August 5, 2011 - For the f-word in heavy, conventional rotation, go see "The Change-Up." Which is another way of saying there's not much reason to go see "The Change-Up," unless you're an unusually big fan of Ryan Reynolds or Jason Bateman. But for the same word in...
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Mary Ellen Podmolik
State ramps up mortgage fraud investigations - August 5, 2011 - Reports of potential mortgage loan fraud are on the upswing, and Illinois certainly is contributing its share to the troubling statistics.
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Dan Pompei
Vikings new, but not rebuilding - August 6, 2011 - MANKATO, Minn. — The soap opera that was Brett Favre is retired.
Howard Reich
Andrea Marcovicci: bringing a sharp edge to 'Torch' - August 5, 2011 - You'd think a cabaret show about torch songs would practically ooze emotion.
Phil Rogers
Teens learning Ripken way - August 6, 2011 - When Cal Ripken Jr. built his youth baseball facility in Aberdeen, Md., he wanted kids to get the feeling of what it is like to play in big-league stadiums. He spent heavily to construct a 3,500-seat replica of Camden Yards, complete with...
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Phil Rosenthal
In deal's wake, has economy already started retreating? - August 3, 2011 - Whatever solace may be taken from the U.S. economy being tugged back from the precipice of disaster with a D.C. debt-limit compromise is tempered by the suspicion that the whole thing could still backslide into the abyss of another recession.
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
Illinois Supreme Court dodges 6th Amendment issue - August 5, 2011 - The Illinois Supreme Court last year decided to review a case that asks a question that touches every criminal prosecution: When does a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to an attorney begin?
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Mary Schmich
Maybe not rat-maggeddon, but rodent reality plenty bad - August 5, 2011 - A couple of days ago, in the peace of a Chicago dusk, a rat scampered across my alley with the jaunty speed of a Michigan Avenue shopper trying to beat the red light.
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Dawn Turner Trice
Breaking the silence - August 1, 2011 - Donna Rogers spent Saturday afternoon marching through a portion of the Englewood community denouncing the area's violence. This was her first time marching.
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Phil Vettel
Stealth steakhouse - August 4, 2011 - I've heard of restaurants with bells and whistles, but this is crazy.
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John von Rhein
Mahler cycle gets choral kick in finale - August 6, 2011 - For his contribution to the worldwide observance of the centenary of Gustav Mahler's death, James Conlon ended at the beginning. Which is to say the music director wrapped up his Ravinia cycle of the Mahler symphonies Thursday night with a...
Ellen Warren
DIY personal style - August 5, 2011 - Wouldn't it be great if we all had the cash to hire a personal stylist who would put together great outfits that make us look and feel terrific?
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Jen Weigel
Work gifts: To give or not to give? - August 4, 2011 - Your co-worker is having a birthday and you are approached to put some money toward a group gift. Trouble is, you don't know this person very well. Does that mean you have to fork out some cash for someone you barely know?
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: Hotmail freeze burns user - August 4, 2011 - The night before she left on vacation, Sharon Brown's Hotmail account was working swimmingly.
Eric Zorn
Big fight looming over a bad idea - August 5, 2011 - About a third of the way through the 74-page debt-ceiling bill signed into law this week is a one-paragraph by-the-way that sets the stage for a zesty battle this fall.
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Other columnists
Julia Allison: Social Studies
Planning something? Eventbrite is the ticket! - August 5, 2011 - DEAR JULIA: I love parties and frequently plan elaborate shindigs with my friends. Thanks to my type-A personality, love of Google docs and ability to nag people into using PayPal, I tend to be the de facto organizer. Recently I was approached...
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Matt Bowen
Waiting for name to be called on draft day nerve-wracking - April 24, 2011 - The dynamic of the NFL draft goes much deeper than first-round picks walking across the stage in three-piece suits (bought by their agents) to shake the commissioner's hand.
Dennis Byrne
The truth hurts: Bleak indicators - August 2, 2011 - The fierce debate over raising the federal borrowing limit has had at least one happy result: The public's newly found awareness that Washington must borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends.
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Meghan Daum
The siren song of Google+ - July 29, 2011 - Google+, which launched a month ago to great fanfare, is so far feeling more like Google nonplussed. Reported to have crossed the 20-million-user mark last weekend, the new social networking site is designed to correct one of Facebook's major...
Don Dziedzina
Kankakee River wading - August 6, 2011 - While gathering information for last week's fishing report, Ed Mullady told me smallmouth bass were being caught in water so shallow that their backs could be seen while they swam along the banks of the Kankakee River.
Leah Eskin
Tried and true - July 31, 2011 - Fish takes naturally to the grill. It must be the contrast between water and fire, cool and hot, brine and char.
Ilyce Glink
Foreclosure activity falls, but for how long? - August 4, 2011 - In its latest report, RealtyTrac announced that foreclosure activity fell on a year-over-year basis in 84 percent of metro areas with at least 200,000 residents.
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Jonah Goldberg
Men behaving badly - June 3, 2011 - Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York is a very busy man. He sits on several important committees. He's newly married to a high-powered wife. He's planning a run for mayor of New York, which they call "the city that never sleeps" for a reason. In fact,...
Benny Kass
Giving property as a gift requires careful tax planning - July 29, 2011 - I receive a large number of email questions on a monthly basis, and try to answer as many as I can. I wish I could respond personally to everyone, but that is not possible.
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Keep network charged to jump-start job search - August 3, 2011 - Q. After looking for eight months, I found what I thought was a great job and tried to save time by shutting down my networking efforts. Four months later, my great job went south when my new employer closed shop. Ginning up my network again is...
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Charles Krauthammer
Big push for the Half-Trillion plan - July 25, 2011 - WASHINGTON — The debt ceiling looms. Confusion reigns. Schemes abound. We are deep in a hole with, as of now, only three ways out: the (Sen. Mitch) McConnell plan, the G6 plan and the Half-Trillion plan.
Dan McNeil
The lost season - August 4, 2011 - It's been a dreadful week for White Sox fans, all of whom expected — at the minimum — a reasonable fight to the finish.
Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Start living your miracle life - August 1, 2011 - Last week I asked the Miracle Question from Solution-Focused therapy, which is simply, "If a miracle occurs tonight while you sleep that solves all of your problems, how would you know when you woke up that a miracle occurred? What would be...
Kathleen Parker
Standing on bizarre principles - August 4, 2011 - — Actually, no, Mr. Vice President, the tea party gang wasn't "acting like terrorists." They were acting like kidnappers. Let's get our insults correct.
Mark Pearlstein
Newsletter connects residents, if done right - August 5, 2011 - Q: What is the legal status of publishing a condominium newsletter using some association funds? We wish to publish a one-page newsletter that would feature articles about residents, items about the building and events in the area. The only...
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Leonard Pitts
'Everybody look what's goin' down' - July 28, 2011 - Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war.
Janet Portman
Avoid roommate problems when subletting apartment - August 5, 2011 - Q: My three roommates and I rented a house for the year. One roommate left for the summer and sublet his room to a friend, Max. This new roommate has not paid his share of the rent, and we want to evict him. Can we do this?
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Dean Richards
Franco: Human, animal relations focus of 'Apes' - August 5, 2011 - NEW YORK CITY — Even though he scored an Oscar nomination for his performance in "127 Hours" last year, James Franco is hoping that his new movie will put more focus on his acting career and less on his critically panned Academy Awards...
Daneen Skube: Interpersonal Edge
Dealing with emotional terrorists - August 1, 2011 - Q. Our organization is considering promoting a current vice president to CEO. She is prejudicial and overbearing, has no people skills, calls employees stupid, belittles them many times, resulting in tears, is always right, and yells in public at...
David Sobolewski
'We had bigger goals' - March 21, 2011 - Obviously, the Benet team and community had an extremely rough time with the unexpected end to the season.
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Girls soccer | Joe Trost's Corner Kicks: Madison County teams sweep the state tournament - June 9, 2011 - Darren Geisler, an avid soccer fan from downstate Illinois, sent an email last week thanking me for picking Granite City to advance to the semifinals of the Class 3A state tournament last weekend.
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Mary Umberger
Rental demand, prices are heating up - August 5, 2011 - I recently heard a personal finance pundit proclaim that renting is the new owning.
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Bob Weber
An inflated tire diagnosis? - August 1, 2011 - Q: I have a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country with 76,000 miles. It has begun displaying the message "Service Tire System Soon/Read Owners Manual." Since all tires are inflated with nitrogen I am wondering if it may be a TPMS malfunction. Any...
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George Will
Who will bat against 'Alibi' Obama? - July 8, 2011 - "If he popped up in the pinch he should of made a base hit and the reason he didn't was so-and-so. And if he cracked one for three bases he ought to had a home run, only the ball wasn't lively, or the wind brought it back, or he tripped on a...
