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Digital snacks at your fingertips (photo by Steve Dolinsky)

The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) really knows how to hold a convention. By size standards, the Vending Machine Show is no National Restaurant Association show (which comes to town this weekend by the way, so forget about getting reservations anywhere), and it's definitely dwarfed compared with the Fancy Foods Show or the Candy Show. But this annual convention certainly pulls together some interesting displays, and does it in a way that is completely relatable to most folks. I mean, who hasn't bought something from a vending machine? They're everywhere - offices, schools, ice rinks - and as much as foodies might disdain their contributions to the culinary world, they often come in handy in a pinch.

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An assortment of news items (updated and annotated) from my Chicago Sun-Times column 26 years ago this week: 

• "It was smiles all around as Steve Dahl and Garry Meier returned to their WLS-FM (94.7) afternoon show after a three-day suspension and weeklong vacation. WLS general manager John Gehron kicked them off the air May 9 for infractions of station policies and an overall 'defiant attitude toward management.' 'I'm sorry I didn't read the situation better,' Gehron said. 'As a manager, I shouldn't have let it explode.' " [Dahl and Meier shifted to WLS-AM (890) four months later, and worked there until their contract ran out in February 1986. The duo broke up in 1993. Today, Dahl hosts a daily podcast from his home, and Meier hosts afternoons on WGN-AM (720). Gehron, who went on to become a revered broadcast industry statesman, is lead management consultant for AccuRadio.com.]
• "How eager is WLS-Channel 7 for anchorman John Drury to jump over from WGN-Channel 9? Though Drury is still being held to his WGN contract, Channel 7 already lists him (and an out-of-service extension number) in its internal phone directory." [Drury finally signed on at Channel 7 in August 1984 and fronted the ABC-owned station's top-rated 10 p.m. newscast for almost 18 years until he retired in February 2002. On Nov. 25, 2007, he died of Lou Gehrig's disease at age 80.]

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(photo by Lee Bey)

The John Hancock Center--the dark, obelisk-like tower stitched up on all four sides with iconic x-bracing--is still a commanding presence on the city's skyline.

But what caught my attention recently wasn't how the 1,127 feet of offices, shops and residences scrape the sky, but how it all meets the ground. The world-famous 100-story building lands without much fanfare on a simple granite plaza that has a sunken portion. The muscular X-braces reach all the way down to just above the first floor.

I've always liked the spiraling parking ramp in the back...

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No matter what "Food Wars" says on the Travel Channel, this Chicagoan still says the best beef is at Johnnie's in Elmwood Park. Paired with their signature lemon ice ("Italian lemonade") it ranks among the all-time greatest combos of Mantle & Maris, Batman & Robin, even Ben & Jerry. I say this after having eaten beefs at Jay's, Pop's, Chickie's, Al's and Mr.

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Robservations on the media beat:

^{Lauren Cohn} 

• Losing a job in broadcast news no longer means being exiled to oblivion. The newest entry in the Chicago media blogosphere is LaurenCohnReports.com (billed as "The Official Website of Newscaster Lauren Cohn"), launched by the former news anchor and reporter at WFLD-Channel 32. Cohn, who signed off from the Fox-owned station April 1, said she sees the website as a "marketing tool" to keep her name in front of the public --  and her resume in front of potential employers. She's already blogged about everything from her Blackberry Bold to the Highland Park girls' basketball team. Cohn, who previously worked at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 and CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2, has been filling in on Citadel Broadcasting news/talk WLS-AM (890).
• Chicago television news icon Walter Jacobson, who was principal news anchor at Channel 32 for 13 years, had harsh words Monday for bosses of the Fox-owned station over their dismissal of Lilia Chacon. (As reported here, Chacon is being dropped after 21 years as a reporter for Fox Chicago News.) Jacobson, who now delivers commentaries for Channel 2, blasted Chacon's ouster in a message to this blog. In case you missed it, here's Walter's perspective:

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(photo by Lee Bey)

I took my three daughters to see the Romare Bearden exhibition at the Cultural Center over the weekend (definitely recommended, by the way).

As we walked down the stairs from the Yates gallery, we saw a man washing the windows that face an open interior space that separates the north and south wings of the 1893 masterpiece at 78 E. Washington.

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41 extremely clever poems, haikus and limericks later, Stephanie Izard picks the winner of two tickets to her friends and family dinner before opening her "Girl & The Goat" restaurant. Well, actually, there might be two winners here. See the video for the details.

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