Alejandro Verdin--Padilla Stands Tall

If I were to teach a high-school class in literature, I’d use page 42 of a recent Sun-Times as a textbook example of irony. On that page, gently resting side by side, are articles whose themes contradict each other. How ironic. I’m won…

With all the human carnage and cruelty in the world every day, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how broken up I’ve been over the recent death of Bear--our family dog. A Pit bull. Died unexpectedly at age 10. My oldest daughter broke me th…

The story you’re about to read is true–none of the names have been changed to protect the innocent, though they’re all spelled correctly. I hope... After a grueling day of podcasting, I take a walk to clear my head and think great…

Don’t know what I was doing back in 1999 that kept me from reading My Kitchen Wars. That's the year it came out–a memoir by Betty Fussell, best known as a food writer. So I probably wouldn’t have read it, even if I had heard about …

Around here everyone’s making a big deal out of the fact that the new pope comes from Chicago. Or Dolton–a suburb just south of Chicago. So, close enough... But I have my own personal big deal to make out of Cardinal Robert Francis Prev…

Sad news out of Chicago--the great Mike Miner, writer/edit for the Reader, died the other day. Age 81--natural causes. He had a fascinating life. Navy veteran.  Former Sun-Times reporter. Dispatched stories from Saigon at the end of the Vietna…