Friday 22
Last December, at the height of the Christmas-shopping madness, a handful of Pledge of Resistance folks were arrested for singing fractured, if not peaceful, carols at the Water Tower. The peaceniks go before a judge this afternoon at 1:30, and there are likely to be more peaceful shenanigans at the Daley Plaza, Washington and Clark. Leave your guns, knives, and bombs at home; not only will they not pass the metal detector, but the defendants would consider them in bad taste. Call Pledge of Resistance for more information at 663-4398.
Here’s a little slice of history: Sarah Weddington, the plaintiff’s attorney in the ground-breaking abortion decision, Roe v. Wade, will be speaking today in a 15th anniversary celebration of the Supreme Court’s enlightenment. Joining her will be Eleanor Smeal, the provocative past president of NOW, Colleen Connell, a lawyer with the ACLU’s Project for Reproductive Rights, and Catherine MacKinnon, author of Feminism Unmodified and cowriter of the controversial and ultimately unconstitutional (if you believe the Seventh District Court of Appeals) Indianapolis antipornography statute. Sparks fly for free at 4 PM in the University of Chicago Law School courtroom, 1111 E. 60th. For more information, call 667-4296.
Artsy couch potatoes can indulge tonight at Stuff on Tape, a free exhibition of video works by nine Columbia College students. Actually, it won’t be much like home, since the stuff will be projected on a large screen rather than monitors, but it’s bound to beat Miami Vice. Viewing starts at 5 PM at the Hokin Art Center, 623 S. Wabash. For a full schedule and other details, call 663-1600, ext. 203.
Saturday 23
Hardy, serene types can test their resistance to the cold as well as their sensibilities with a bird-watching field trip led by the Chicago Audubon Society’s Jim Landing. The search for gulls and waterfowl is on at 8 AM. Meet at the fish shack just south of Navy Pier, Grand and Lake Shore Drive. Don’t forget a bag of stale bread to feed the feathered. For more information, call Paul Kallman at 274-1354 between 6 and 7 PM.
Harry Browne, like a million other investment experts, probably has the answers to your troubles. But the author of Why the Best-Laid Investment Plans Usually Go Wrong isn’t as Pollyannaish as most. Get his list of dos and don’ts today at 3 at Numisco Rare Coins Ltd., 1423 W. Fullerton. The $25 fee includes a copy of Browne’s book. Call 528-8800 for more.
Daniel Duell and his former Chicago City Ballet dancers sure aren’t giving up now that prima donna Maria Tallchief and her hubby have dumped the company from their largess list. Tonight’s gala benefit, Icicles and Arabesques, includes a private performance by former company dancers, dinner, dancing, and an auction by Christie’s auctioneers. Tickets are $75 per person for this black-tie benefit (and dont pull a Gorby). Show time is at 6 in the Gold Coast Room of the Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton. For more information, call 944-2082 or 549-4229.
Sunday 24
Kay Stepkin’s Bread Shop, the city’s oldest natural-foods bakery, is simple and to the point. That’s why, quite naturally, it’ll be offering bread-making lessons to the public every Sunday at 1 PM beginning today. Now that football season is over in Chicago, what else have you got to do on Sundays? The shop’s at 3400 N. Halsted and there’s a $5 materials charge, Class size is limited, so call ahead: 528-8108.
Everybody talks about bad boy Rod Strickland and the DePaul University Blue Demons, but there’s more to Hoosier Hysteria than that–just look at the Lady Blue Demons, who (at press time) boast a record of 10-3. That’s better than Joey Meyer’s boys and their 9-4. The girls play Valparaiso at 1 today at Alumni Hall, 1011 W. Belden. Admission is an affordable $2. For more information, call 341-8010.
Monday 25
There’s more to the Pegasus Players current run than the critically applauded production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, an electrifying blues musical. The Uptown group is also presenting A Women’s Perspective Theater Festival in repertory, starting tonight with Susan Griffin’s Voices at 7 and Disappearing Underpants, developed by Lila Mirochin, at 8. The first-ever fest runs through February 14 at the Edgewater Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr. The requested donation is $2.50. Call 271-2638 for a full schedule and more information.
Tuesday 26
We all thought we’d be different with our kids–we’d be their best friends, we told ourselves–but now some teenage version of ourselves with a torched Mohawk is sulking behind locked bedroom doors. There’s still hope. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is sponsoring a lecture at noon today, Communicating With Your Teenager, that’s sure to help. It’s free at the Carriage House, room 206, 215 E. Chicago. Call 908-7014 for the inside details.
It’s hard to think of Gary Hart, opera diva Beverly Sills, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia having much in common, but they do: all have been Kovler Visiting Fellows at the University of Chicago. (Obviously, in Hart’s case, this was before he became a public sinner.) Justice Scalia continues the tradition with a free lecture today, The Constitution, the People, and the Courts (is that broad enough for you?) at 4 at the U. of C. Law School, 1111 E. 60th. He promises to mingle with the students afterward. For more information, call 702-8360.
Brenda Verner’s Public Property: Media Images of Black and White Women is a penetrating view of sexism and racism hard at work in the 19th and 20th centuries. Verner’s lecture and slide show is a no-holds-barred look at the insidious messages that permeate seemingly innocent images. Perhaps someone should invite Justice Scalia, huh? Verner’s lecture is part of the Women’s Center series at Northwestern University. It’s free and begins at 7 PM at Harris Hall, room 107, 1881 Sheridan in Evanston. Call 491-7360 for more information.
Wednesday 27
Of course you think you’re worth more than you’re paid. We all do. And Jack Chapman, president of Professional Career Counselors and Consultants Network as well as his own career development agency, knows it too. That’s why he’s going to charge only $5 to teach us How to Make $1,000 a Minute: Negotiating Salaries. The chat is sponsored by the Loop Employment Services Department of the YWCA from noon to 1 today at 37 S. Wabash. Call 372-6600, ext. 346, for more information.
If you like a little sleaze, Division Street and nearly naked men ought to do the trick. Drop in tonight (no cover) for Mother’s Fifth Annual Mr. Division Street Contest. Winner takes home all of $500 after being tops in sex appeal, charisma, and physique. And it’s not even for a worthy cause. Gyrations and accompanying drools begin at 10 tonight at 26 W. Division. For more, call 642-8000.
Thursday 28
Women can get drinks for 25 cents a shot tonight at the Avalon, 959 W. Belmont, and everybody can get a good look at some dashing new fashion from local designers for just $2 per person. Hilarie Sterneberg’s fashion performance art piece has it all: a live presentation of designer work, a print show by 19 local photogs, and a special music selection. The fun starts at 10 PM and tickets are available at Hair Performers, 2910 N. Broadway or at the Avalon. Call 477-5747 for more.