Events

Welcome to stop #57 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Horse Thief Hollow, 10426 S. Western Ave., ChicagoTrain line: Rock Island, 103rd–Beverly Hills Time from Chicago: 26 minutes (Zone C)Distance from station: 1.3 km About 180 years ago, the low, swampy area where 111th Street meets Vincennes Avenue today provided excellent cover for a band of horse thieves who plagued the farmers far to the south of Chicago. In 2013, Neil Byers opened a restaurant and brewery nearby. Eight years in, they are...

Welcome to stop #56 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Open Outcry Brewing, 10934 S. Western Ave., ChicagoTrain line: Rock Island, 111th–Morgan Park Time from Chicago: 30 minutes (Zone C)Distance from station: 1.1 km Yesterday I snuck out of the office before sunset and headed out to Tinley Park to see the new beer garden at Banging Gavel Brews. Despite my very careful reading of train schedules to visit three Rock Island Line stops in one evening, I did not read Banging Gavel's website carefully...

In a CityLab article from this summer (which for some reason they put on today's newsletter, and not the one from June 25th), Tony Frangie Mawad examines the decline in American public transit since the late 20th century: Back in 1970, 77 million Americans commuted to work every day, and 9% of them took a bus or a train. By 2019, the number of U.S. workers had nearly doubled, to more than 150 million. But the vast majority of these new workers chose to drive: The number of public transit riders...

The Brews & Choos Project continues this evening with a short trip to the South Side. Beverly (probably named after the one in Massachusetts) became one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods in the mid-20th century, and remains so today. I would call it the most North Side-like part of the South Side. (I'll also visit Morgan Park, just a little below 107th Street.) To celebrate this occasion, enjoy this fun ditty by John Forster:

Eddie Lampert, corporate murderer, has managed to drive his once-great company out if its home state: Sears' last Illinois location, at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, is set to close in November. The Hoffman Estates-based retailer’s parent company, Transformco, announced the decision today. "This is part of the company's strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community," the company said in a statement. Ah, yes, because under the...

About 7,000 a day, though it won't hurt to do 10,000: [T]wo studies, which, together, followed more than 10,000 men and women for decades, show that the right types and amounts of physical activity reduce the risk of premature death by as much as 70 percent. But they also suggest that there can be an upper limit to the longevity benefits of being active, and pushing beyond that ceiling is unlikely to add years to our life spans and, in extreme cases, might be detrimental. [A]t 10,000 steps, the benefits...

As expected (but not as most news organizations made it seem), California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) did not lose his job yesterday: With 100% of precincts reporting at least some results, Gavin Newsom has avoided being recalled by a 63.9% to 36.1% margin. The numbers from the California Secretary of State show a clear divide in the state: coastal counties, the Bay Area and nearly all of Southern California voted to keep Newsom. Central California and most of the rural Northern California counties voted...

Matt Ford points out the surreality of Justice Amy Coney Barrett's appearance at an event with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the weekend: If you were a parodist for The Onion, “Justice Amy Coney Barrett Insists Supreme Court Isn’t Partisan at McConnell Center Event” probably wouldn’t even get you a courtesy chuckle from your co-workers at a pitch meeting. Reality, however, clearly has a more surreal sense of humor than any mortal can muster, because this incredible moment of irony...

Whisky Advocate finally lays out something I've wondered about: which single malts go into which blends? “Cardhu’s at the heart of Johnnie Walker,” says Emma Walker, one of 12 master blenders that work on Johnnie Walker. “Cardhu was always a blender’s favorite,” she adds. “It was essential to Johnnie Walker. They always created high-quality spirit and it became a partnership even before Cardhu joined the Johnnie Walker family.” Owned by Diageo, Cardhu Distillery is just one of the global corporation’s...

Tonight the Apollo Chorus of Chicago has its first in-person rehearsal since 12 March 2020, almost exactly 18 months ago. We're in a new rehearsal space with lots of new people and new challenges (like mandatory mask-wearing while singing). Poor Cassie won't see me for several more hours. Tomorrow I expect a little more breathing room. Today, though...yikes.