To the editors. The “Hot Type” defense of Kay Thompson in the Oct. 7 issue of the Reader is a classic example of the arrogance and ignorance that plagues the White Liberal mentality. The fact that Ms. Thompson was once married to a black man is offered as prima facie proof that she could not […]
Tag: Vol. 18 No. 2
Issue of Oct. 27 – Nov. 2, 1988
Posted inArts & Culture
They Might Be Giants
Back in 1986, this wiseass two-man band from Brooklyn proudly released their first album full of deadpan synth-pop melodramas, catchy heartbreaking songs, dumb cowpoke sing-alongs, and just about every other received pop cliche they could think of. They claimed none of it as their own. In fact, it was all performed with cheesy, synthesized instrumentation […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Buck the Archdiocese
To the editors: As I finish reading your article, “Knells of Saint Mary’s” [September 9], one thought comes to mind . . . Bravo to the Reader for having the guts to print the real story behind the “for-publication” version. Congratulations to Bryan Miller for a well-written, thoroughly investigated story and for exposing the political […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Deep Disappointment
To the editors: My first reaction was to demand a second “this-time-get-it-right” article. But on further thought why risk any more damage by Mr. Henderson [“A Piece of Lakefront,” September 23]. He had a chance to do a thorough in-depth story about a very complex project whose underlying issue may indeed be control, but not […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Accuracy in Reporting
To the editors: Speaking as someone who has a loved one at Oxford’s Minimum Security facility, I applaud John Conroy’s article [October 7]. Leave it to the Reader to give a more accurate account of this facility than the Chicago Tribune or the evening news. Name withheld Chicago
Posted inNews & Politics
The referendum on Con Con: Does Illinois need a new constitution?
“We have thrown off the shackles of an archaic and restrictive constitution, and gained the freedom to deal effectively with the problems confronting Illinois,” said Governor Richard Ogilvie in 1970 after voters did away with a century-old constitution. Gone was a bulky document that included specifics on warehouses and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. In […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
The origins of Halloween go back to the pre-Christian Celtic calendar. Samhain, as it was then known, was the beginning of the new year–a natural choice given that the air was blowing cold and the ground turning hard. The veil that separated the living and the dead was removed. If you want to combine that […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Pub Crawling: Reptilian races at Deja Vu Downs
It’s Wednesday night at the dimly lit Deja Vu bar, and mixed with the usual sights–customers engrossed in TV sports, groups huddled over their beer at dingy wooden tables–are a few signs that something more lively is going on. Set up along one wall, between two dart boards, is a platform about two feet off […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Candid Cameras: Garry Winogrand’s art snapshots
When photographer Garry Winogrand died, he left some unfinished business. Winogrand had always had a backlog. From the beginning, he insisted on snatching images from the flow of life rather than setting them up, an approach that made it certain he would shoot in quantity. And he was always more interested in hunting the pictures […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Robert Ashley
In 1985 the Museum of Contemporary Art presented an anniversary commission at the Goodman Theatre, an opera by composer and performance artist Robert Ashley called Atalanta (Acts of God). The work exemplified Ashley’s longtime interest in the coordination between musical ideas and visual media–in this case, video. Now Ashley returns to Chicago for the local […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Antony and Cleopatra
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Shakespeare Repertory at the Ruth Page Theatre I suppose it’s only natural to find Shakespeare Repertory’s Antony and Cleopatra and Goodman Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet shacked up together in my mind. After all, they’re both Shakespearean, they opened nine days apart, and they’re basically about the same thing: a love that can’t […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Bird
Clint Eastwood’s ambitious and long-awaited biopic about the great Charlie Parker (Forest Whitaker), running 161 minutes, is the most serious, conscientious, and accomplished jazz biopic ever made, and almost certainly Eastwood’s best picture as well. The script (which accounts for much of the movie’s distinction) is by Joel Oliansky, and the costars include Diane Venora […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Basically Bach
With the incredible growth and expansion of the City Musick since its 1985 inception, it’s easy to forget that there is another period instrument ensemble in Chicago that is one season older: Basically Bach. The City Musick is trying to build a permanent orchestra of Chicago-area players; Basically Bach hires many of its players from […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Lawrence Bloom for Mayor?
Everyone admits he’s qualified. Does anyone think he can win?
Posted inArts & Culture
Bad Blood
The distinctive and unusual talents of French filmmaker Leos Carax have relatively little to do with story telling, and it would be a mistake to approach this, his second feature, with expectations of a “dazzling film noir thriller,” which is how it was described for the Chicago Film Festival last year. Dazzling it certainly is […]