By Steve Rhodes
1. We’re all George W. Bush now.
2. “Alinea, one of only two Chicago restaurants to get a three-star Michelin rating, is getting another award, this time for the most decadence,” Fox Chicago News reports.
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From the Beachwood, May 2008:
“I find this kind of cheffery and consumption decadent and even immoral – there are no limits to the luxuries we can gloriously bathe ourselves as we refine our tastes evermore while huge swaths of the world go hungry – but read for yourself and see if you are offended somehow by dehydrated bacon wrapped in apple leather swinging from a metal contraption.”
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Which in part prompted this response from the Reader’s Martha Bayne and my ensuing response to her.
3. “Bank of America will pay $137 million to settle allegations that it participated in a bid-rigging conspiracy to defraud government entities that sought to invest proceeds raised through municipal bonds,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Forget the Wikileaks guy – let’s charge BofA with treason.
4. “How Yahoo! Sports has competed online by making investigative journalism its brand.”
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Contrary to what you’ve heard, it’s a golden age for investigative reporting. Not so much beat reporting, which has been eviscerated.
5. Greg Kot’s favorite local indie releases of the year.
6. The Barack Obama Doll.
7. A Very Special Maury.
8. Reinventing Chicago’s City Colleges.
9. Chicagoetry: Surfing to Byzantium.
10. “In a lead-up to her Ultimate Australian Adventure, Oprah Winfrey last week aired Oprah’s Aussie Countdown, which featured a segment with a report by Australian TV personality Carrie Bickmore,” Ad Age reports. “Ms. Bickmore’s report, meant to educate the audience on Australian culture, sparked an upset when she said Australians like to spend time at ‘hip hangouts’ called McDonald’s.”
11. “Mount Prospect village board members told the public Tuesday the village plans to outsource all building inspections by May,” the Daily Herald reports.
12. “Thousands of Chicago Public School students have been unfairly flunked and forced to repeat a grade due to broken promises by CPS officials in implementing a controversial promotion policy, a parent group is expected to charge today,” the Sun-Times reports.
13. “Mayoral candidates face question: Are Chicago public schools good enough for your kids?” the Tribune reports.
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Well, they were never good enough for our president.
14. Chair-Free Chicago.
15. I happen to be a big fan of cold 312 from the tap.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Suck it up.
Posted on December 8, 2010