Staff columns
Ask Amy
Domestic pressure won't lead to marriage - December 29, 2013 - Dear Amy: I have been living with my boyfriend for approximately four years; we are both in our 50s.
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Christopher Borrelli
Audrey Petty's interviews put flesh on city's ghostly high-rises - December 25, 2013 - A few years ago, when Audrey Petty began interviewing former residents of Chicago's public housing projects and compiling the conversations into an oral history of the Robert Taylor Homes, Cabrini-Green and other notorious (now-razed) high-rises, a...
Barbara Brotman
Just for the holidays, Chicago becomes quiet - December 23, 2013 - Looking for a last-minute gift?
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Steve Chapman
A bad year for freedom in the world - December 22, 2013 - The course of freedom and democracy in the world is an evolutionary process, though sometimes it proceeds in the wrong direction. Wines have good years and bad years. If 2013 were a wine, you'd use it to kill weeds.
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Mark Caro
New Beatles books out - December 17, 2013 - I was in seventh grade when I began poring over Beatles books. That was shortly after I’d gotten the “Red” and “Blue” double-record compilations and started methodically, obsessively buying album after album, hoping...
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Bill Daley
Hamming up the holiday with Dr Pepper - December 24, 2013 - Q: Do you need a holiday Daley Question? I'm wondering if there is an actual recipe for ham with a Dr. Pepper glaze.
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Julie Deardorff
The rooming in debate: Readers respond - November 21, 2013
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Teddy Greenstein
Teddy Greenstein's Big Ten bowl picks - December 27, 2013 - Justice prevailed in Indianapolis. Michigan State was easily the Big Ten's most complete team and clearly its best representative for the Rose Bowl.
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Luis Gomez
Chicago media members name their least favorite celeb interviews of 2013 - December 20, 2013 - There are few things more important to me than credibility. So when Pete Wentz told me Fall Out Boy wasn’t getting back together, only for Fall Out Boy to announce it was reuniting the same day my story ran in the Tribune and RedEye, I was...
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David Haugh
Troy Aikman appreciates Aaron Rodgers' situation - December 28, 2013 - When Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman broke his left collarbone in the second game of the 1998 season, he missed five Cowboys games over the next 50 days.
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Melissa Harris
Harris: Futuristic inventions Illinois scientists are working on today - December 15, 2013 - Philip Laible, Argonne National Laboratory: endurance bioenergy reactor. An endurance bioenergy reactor. Huh?
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Philip Hersh
Nia Coffey out to spark Northwestern turnaround - December 25, 2013 - This was one of those games in which a freshman, even one as talented as Nia Coffey, has moments that force coaches to bite their tongues or just mouth the sports adage, "The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores."
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Jon Hilkevitch
New O'Hare runway leads to more landings — and congestion - December 22, 2013 - A new runway is allowing airplanes coming into O'Hare International Airport to shave several precious minutes off their time in the air but is also forcing those jets to spend more minutes taxiing to their gates after they have landed.
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Rex Huppke
A sincere message for the jobless among us - December 14, 2013 - It appears that on Dec. 28, barring unexpected political action that would amount to a true Christmas miracle, 1.3 million jobless Americans will stop receiving unemployment benefits.
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Steve Johnson
Dear Mariano's, is it me? - December 25, 2013 - Dear Amy, Abby, Ann, Dan Savage, Mrs. Butterworth or anyone else who wants to offer advice:
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Chris Jones
The future of arts journalism? - December 27, 2013 - About a week before Christmas, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra put out a press release announcing the launch of a new "online multimedia magazine," titled CSO Sounds & Stories. The word journalism was underlined atop the announcement: "First...
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Blair Kamin
Firm climbs to prominence along with its buildings - December 25, 2013 - For decades, despite his considerable talents and NBA-size height, Chicago architect Jim Goettsch labored in the shadows of such celebrated designers as Helmut Jahn.
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Gregory Karp
A year's worth of financial wisdom - December 23, 2013 - Credit reports, taking away the checkbook from grandma and the No. 1 supermarket shopping tip you need to know.
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John Kass
A very Kass Christmas greeting - December 24, 2013 - For all the children who should be loved always, but especially on this wondrous night, with our arms around them and a long good-night kiss on the temple, a kiss more precious than anything wrapped in a box.
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Rick Kogan
Lujack said his piece, then left at top of his game - December 19, 2013 - Death usually brings tears. But Thursday was a day of shared smiles and laughter between friends of a certain age, and of pleasant memories exploding across the Internet and peppering local airwaves as a generation of Chicagoans reacted to the news...
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Greg Kot
Top New Year's Eve concerts - December 26, 2013 - As any music-lover knows, New Year's Eve can be a tough night to find bargain-priced entertainment. But a few good deals can be found Tuesday, including at least one free show hosted by a funk pioneer (that would be Bernie Worrell at Reggie's)....
Gail MarksJarvis
MarksJarvis: Investors won't have to go cold turkey - December 19, 2013 - Even addicts know they can't keep overdosing without doing themselves horrible harm.
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Nina Metz
Chicago's the secret for Steve Conrad writer - December 26, 2013 - First published as a 1939 short story in the New Yorker, James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" crawls inside the mind of an unassuming man: Walter Mitty, serious daydreamer.
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Fred Mitchell
This could be Devin Hester's last shot with Bears - December 27, 2013 - Devin Hester and Deion Sanders have been exchanging text messages recently.
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Josh Noel
Here's the fast lane of airport screening - December 18, 2013 - More than 25 million people have left their coats and shoes on their bodies, their laptops and 3-ounce liquids packed away and walked through a metal detector rather than a body scanner since the 2011 launch of the Transportation Security...
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Clarence Page
2013: A year to 'twerk' your 'selfie' - December 29, 2013 - If you managed to get through 2013 without "twerking," "vaping," "taking a selfie" or "mining a bitcoin," rest easy. I think your life may be the richer for it.
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Michael Phillips
'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' ★★★★ - December 26, 2013 - Maybe this is true of most films worth revisiting. But each time I see "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" after a few years have passed, its qualities and cumulative impact are never quite what I remembered. It's a tougher-minded creation than its...
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Mike Mulligan
Fairy tale ending can come true for the Bears - December 25, 2013 - 'Tis the season to believe. What better way to drive home that point than a Bears victory Sunday against the Packers at Soldier Field in a winner-take-all showdown for the seemingly unwanted NFC North title?
Mary Ellen Podmolik
It'll take time to see effect of new mortgage rules - December 20, 2013 - New regulations governing home loans take effect Jan. 10, but it's likely to take a few months to see how much they really alter a prospective borrower's ability to get a mortgage.
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Howard Reich
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove rings in a New Year's tradition - December 27, 2013 - There are few certainties in life or in jazz, but one of them played out Thursday night at the Jazz Showcase.
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Phil Rogers
Phil Rogers' MLB power rankings - October 1, 2013 - Last week's ranking in parentheses
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Steve Rosenbloom
Cutler can show he's money (or counterfeit) - December 26, 2013 - Stevie Sunshine is here to wish you a happy Boxing Day and to bring you the gift of, well, sunshine.
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Phil Rosenthal
Phil and the blanks: Kind words for crosswords - December 29, 2013 - Crossword puzzles had been around for a little more than a decade when Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster — Dick and Max to friends — sensed possibilities that apparently no one else had up to that point.
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Ed Sherman
Al Michaels, Bears go way back - December 19, 2013 - If circumstances play out, Al Michaels could find himself on the call for three straight Bears games.
Mary Schmich
2013 with rhyme but not much reason - December 29, 2013 - Let's bid a farewell
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Heidi Stevens
Readers offer up their hard-earned wisdom - December 29, 2013 - If you read this column with any regularity, you know I frequently call on authors, academics and other experts for guidance on the big stuff: parenting, marriage, friendships.
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Dawn Turner Trice
Before selling Women & Children First bookstore, owners offer gift ideas - December 23, 2013 - We all love great stories. So, for Christmas gift ideas, I asked Linda Bubon and Ann Christophersen, owners of Women & Children First bookstore, to recommend five books with top-notch storytelling.
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Phil Vettel
Save the Tables 2013: Your table is reserved for New Year's Eve - December 26, 2013 - New Year's Eve is just six days away. Do you have your dinner reservations yet?
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John von Rhein
Rutter was CSO's fixed point in 2013 - December 25, 2013 - Any observer of administrative excellence at the top echelon of American symphony orchestras in 2013 had to conclude it was the Year of the Deborahs.
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Ellen Warren
Take a shine to this year's metallic trend - December 27, 2013 - Dear Answer Angel Ellen: The stores are filled with metallic clothing. But don't shiny fabrics add pounds? I'm thinking they're a bad choice for those of us who wear clothes intent on camouflaging size, not advertising it.
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Jen Weigel
Helper, don't forget to help yourself too - December 17, 2013 - I'm a fixer. Now when I say "fixer" I don't mean I'm handy with a wrench. I'm the kind of person who tries to fix the emotional problems of those around me to make the world (or a dinner party) a more harmonious place. But sometimes trying to...
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Jon Yates
Problem Solver: Worker fights for retirement bonus - December 29, 2013 - For 41 years, Cheryl Westbrook has worked for Northwestern University as a lab supervisor and phlebotomist.
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Eric Zorn
Year of surprises leaves soothsayers grasping for soothiness - December 29, 2013 - The most surprising news event of 2013 was the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, the Web portal to Obamacare.
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Other columns
Mario Batali
Grapefruit and Honey Cake - December 18, 2013 - Q: I'm not big on chocolate. What's a yummy fruit dessert I can make when entertaining company?
Matt Bowen
Post should work to Alshon Jeffery in red zone - December 28, 2013 - The Bears will see some Cover-4 from the Packers defense inside the red zone and that creates opportunities for quarterback Jay Cutler to target wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on the post route off the "dino" stem.
Dennis Byrne
The joy of Christmas music - December 24, 2013 - Without music, tonight and tomorrow would be just another Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
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Steve Dale
Only a few other mammals - besides reindeer - can fly - December 23, 2013 - Q: I was thinking about flying reindeer. Of course, I don't believe reindeer can fly, but do any other animals fly aside from birds? -- P.P., Little Rock, AK
Howard Dakoff
Prepayment discount on fees violates condo law - December 20, 2013 - Q: Our condominium association board allows unit owners to prepay annual association monthly assessments in one lump sum with a discount of one month's assessments. Meaning, a unit owner may pay 11 months of assessments in January and the incentive...
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Meghan Daum
Davion Only and the foster care conundrum - October 25, 2013 - Born to a mother in prison, 15-year-old Davion Only has been in foster care all his life. Last month he walked into a church in St. Petersburg, Fla., and pleaded for a family of his own.
Christopher Elliott
Please cancel my nonrefundable hotel room, Priceline - December 24, 2013 - Tami Alloway needs to cancel her hotel stay because of "extenuating" personal circumstances. Just one problem: the reservations are nonrefundable.
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Amy Ephron
The uncommonly beautiful and delicious persimmon - December 26, 2013 - By James T. Farmer III for Oneforthetable.com
Leah Eskin
Quick gift: Homemade caramel - December 22, 2013 - The last minute comes around swiftly, smacking the inattentive. Should you find yourself startled by its arrival, ill-prepared and gift-free, fear not.
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Jonah Goldberg
'Duck Dynasty' and a free society - December 25, 2013 - Normally at this time of year, the culture-war fight is over a guy with a white beard. That's true again this year. What's different is that Phil Robertson has taken Santa's place, and instead of a war on Christmas, we have a war on "Duck Dynasty."
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Ilyce Glink & Samuel Tamkin
1031 exchange made more difficult by LLC - December 29, 2013 - By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
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Victor Davis Hanson
The orphaned middle class - December 26, 2013 - On almost every left-right issue that divides Democrats and Republicans -- as well as Republicans themselves -- there is a neglected populist constituency. The result is that populist politics are largely caricatured as Tea Party extremism -- and a...
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Arianna Huffington
Helping Italians tell their own stories - September 27, 2013 - ROME -- Ciao from Rome, where I'm delighted to announce the launch of L'Huffington Post. I've always had a great fondness for the boot-shaped country and as a Greek, I feel a kinship with a fellow Mediterranean land where someone is always trying...
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Benny L. Kass
Rental properties ineligible for mortgage debt relief - December 20, 2013 - Q: I am hoping you can clarify debt relief as it applies to rental property. My sister has a single-family residence that she rents out, and is now letting the house follow the path to foreclosure. She received info from a real estate attorney that...
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Catch up with 2014 job search trends - December 29, 2013 - Feel as though you need to get up to date with contemporary career moves? Read this two-part column spotlighting job search trends for 2014. Today's column focuses on seven changes driven by technology and tools.
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Robert Koehler
Values in shrink-wrap - December 26, 2013 - Amid the love and ripped shrink-wrap plastic of Christmas, my 7-month-old great nephew, Joey, sat contentedly gumming the cardboard label on a stuffed pink elephant he'd been given -- his grin piercing the excesses of the season that lay crumpled...
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Charles Krauthammer
Story of the year: A disaster in the making - December 23, 2013 - — The lie of the year, according to Politifact, is "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." But the story of the year is a nation waking up to just how radical Obamacare is — which is why it required such outright deception...
Dan McNeil
Bears' victory could trigger bad decisions - October 17, 2013 - In a simpler time — when we were wide-eyed and fresh-faced — all that mattered was seeing our team win.
Pamela Dittmer McKuen
2013 highlights for Illinois community associations - December 14, 2013 - If your community association's meetings seem to be getting longer, it's not your imagination. Myriad court judgments, legislation and hot topics this year have given boards plenty to talk about and added work to do.
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Kathleen Parker
Make a girl laugh - December 13, 2013 - — Make a woman laugh, Marilyn Monroe supposedly said, and you can make her do anything.
Ed Perkins
'Airline Passenger Bill of Rights 2.0': A good start - December 24, 2013 - Flyersrights.org, a leading consumerist organization for airline passengers, published a proposed updated "bill of rights" that it is urging upon the Department of Transportation and Congress. Although some of its 30 points are toothless -- as...
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William Pfaff
We need your prayers this season, Pope Francis - December 24, 2013 - Christmas this year seems more the occasion of religious war than of the peace to which the greeting cards routinely allude. Peace talks, such as the "5 plus 1" talks seeking reconciliation with Iran to eliminate the threat of war from or...
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Lights. Camera. Corruption. - December 8, 2013 - You want to know the worst part?
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Janet Portman
Ripple effect of guest breaking law - June 7, 2013 - Q: I rent a small one-bedroom and from time to time my grandson, who has had some trouble with the law, stays with me.
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Bill Press
Edward Snowden's revenge - December 19, 2013 - Fasten your seat belts. We've seldom seen a more sudden reversal of public policy on any issue than we saw this week with the National Security Agency. And it's all in the right direction.
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Mary Sanchez
In Sochi Olympic Games, shades of 1936 - December 20, 2013 - So who will be the Jesse Owens of the Sochi Winter Olympics?
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Rick Steves
Bethlehem's Mix of Christians and Muslims - December 24, 2013 - This is the third article in a four-part series on Rick's recent trip to the Holy Land.
Cal Thomas
A Duck Dynasty checklist - December 26, 2013 - The outrage industry was in high dudgeon just before Christmas over remarks "Duck Dynasty" family patriarch, Phil Robertson, made to GQ magazine about homosexuality. Outrage is the primary ingredient for political fundraising and...
Mary Umberger
True tales of neighbors, gators and comics - December 20, 2013 - Real estate isn't all contracts, closings and square footage. A few glimpses of the business at its thoroughly human margins:
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John Warner
The Biblioracle: Truman winners hard to best - December 29, 2013 - Welcome to the Second Annual Biblioracle Book Awards!
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Bob Weber
Remote starter: Go to pro - December 13, 2013 - Q: I have a 2012 Subaru Legacy, and I purchased an extended warranty from the dealer. I want to put an aftermarket remote starter on this car. Will it affect the warranty? Is there a remote starting unit you recommend?
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Jules Witcover
A year consumed by Obamacare fight, with more to come - December 29, 2013 - WASHINGTON -- As the end of 2013 approaches, seldom has a domestic issue so dominated the political center stage as Obamacare did this year. The president's health-care insurance law has ridden a policy roller-coaster and will still have a huge...
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