Events

Today marks the 49th anniversary of the most odiferous disaster ever to strike the shores of Chicago: [D]uring the 1930s, these alewives got into Lake Michigan. They weren’t much of a problem because the bigger fish–like the trout–would eat them. But the sea lamprey came along and ate the trout. Sea lampreys didn’t eat alewives, so suddenly, the lake had all these alewives and no predators. Pretty soon there are alewives filling the lake. That’s what today’s story is about—July 7, 1967. There are so...

Jeet Heer reminds Republicans that Donald Trump isn't going to disappear on November 9th: [W]ill Trump really cease to matter in November? After all, no human being loves the spotlight more, and he’s chased after media attention since he was a young man. Being the nominee of a major party is a dream job for him, because it means people will hang on his every word. Even if he loses badly in November, Trump will likely cling to his status as the strangest “party elder” ever—and convert it into new...

You guessed it: Trump’s complete lack of experience in public office ought to provide him with the opportunity, which most novice candidates have, for a clean-slate résumé. Instead, he is already waist-deep in stench. Trump has not merely intermingled campaigning with his business interests; the two are one and the same. His entire political career seems to be an outgrowth of his efforts to build his personal brand, which Trump has endlessly used the campaign as a platform to promote. He has devoted...

It's nice to have a friend with a boat. You get to see this kind of thing on Google Timeline: Photos won't be spectacular because the lighting kind of sucked (high thin cirrostratus layer, light was cold and gray). But I'll post some when I'm able.

As I offloaded the photos from Windy City Ribfest from my phone, this was in the same batch: That's a steak and ale pie from The Greyhound Pub in Aldbury, Hertfordshire, this past Sunday. And it was much better than any of the ribs I had this evening.

Chicago actually has more than one ribfest. There's the main one in Lincoln Square, the big one in Naperville, and the ugly stepchild going on right now at Lawrence and Broadway. Yes, Windy City Ribfest, I'm talking about you. The "fest" is tiny, with just 6 rib vendors, three of them in such close proximity that the lines get mixed up and people trying to walk down the street nearly step on dogs' tails crossing them. And of the 6 vendors, none is spectacular. I tried two $8 samplers, one from Porky...

I've listened to Minnesota Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion off and on for most of its 42 years on the air. Tonight, coming home from the grocery store, I caught the last hour or so of Garrison Keillor's last show. And I got a little misty. Scott Simon reflects: The Lake Wobegon that Garrison Keillor has brought to life and built word by word, in millions of imaginations, is not a rustic refuge from the modern world. It has been gentle, but edgy, midwestern, but not middlebrow, calm but scarcely...

New York Times business columnist James Stewart thinks it through: Unless Britain finds a way to undo its decision to leave the European Union, London’s days as the pre-eminent global financial capital, ranked even ahead of New York, may be numbered. Who might win this high-stakes financial sweepstakes? Here are the criteria most frequently mentioned: English-language facility, which is essential for attracting a global work force; a favorable regulatory environment, especially regarding employment...

This is London: And so is this:

Two more photos from last weekend. This is what I walked around in near Tring on Sunday: down well-marked paths: That, I tell you, is England. Which I hope very much will stay in the United Kingdom.