WBEZ | Culture

Get happy: Overview of the 2013 Color Run

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:12:00 -0500

On Sunday my husband and I ran a 5K called the Color Run, which is inspired in part by the Indian festival Holi. The theme of the run is “Happy” (hence the “Happy” tattoos I received with our packet pickup) and along the run bursts of colored cornstarch are thrown at you. The idea is that the runners wear all white, and then by the end of the race it’s a messy, colorful joyful mess, with a party featuring even more bursts of color. If you’re still white by the end of the race, you’re doing it wrong (isn't that just the theme of life, really?)

A friend told me she was running the race and so I signed up, remembering the happy expressions and ruined shirts of post-Color-Run runners from a few years ago. I had a few reservations pre-run, though. Earlier this spring my friends and I ran another untimed, “happy” gimmick race called the Rave Run where the idea was that the runners race in the dark, lit up by 5Ks worth of light show and glowing apparel. However, an unlit run at night on an uneven surface (the downtown lakefront) was a very poor idea, and the light show we were promised was pretty paltry.

I am certainly not a very serious runner, but I was also a little irritated by the number of people present who seemed more interested in Instagramming the event than actually making their way down the path. Meanwhile, at the packet pickup for the Color Run (which, annoyingly, was in Grant Park and sucked for anyone who had to park), there was a swag-for-sale tent, encouraging runners (girls especially), to pick up silly running items like tutus and kneesocks and goofy sunglasses. I definitely think it’s fun when runners dress up for races and treat it like a party but I never realized that I have a bit of a snobbish point of view in that it’s fun when runners DIY it, but it feels mercenary when a for-profit 5K makes extra bucks by selling costumery that will never be worn again post-race. I am aware that I am cranky, however, and I shouldn’t begrudge people their right to make their race fun their way.

Regardless, I slapped two “Happy” tattoos on the backs of my legs and we lined up to run Sunday morning. The race had a rolling starting line, which I liked because it worked well: we had the option of showing up anytime during a specific window, instead of for a specific start time (races never start at the start time, unless you’re one of the elite runners up front.)

Again, the swag factor was huge: the emcee letting out waves of runners threw out lots of free stuff and promised us the chance to get our photo taken with a new Chevy (the main sponsor.) This was a bit eyeroll inducing. But, whatever. Happy!

A friend of mine who was running her first 5K was worried about being undertrained for the race, but I’d say probably half as many people walked as ran, which I had no problem with except people never obey the request that runners stay the left, walkers, right. I tried to run the entire thing but I had to dodge a lot of walkers.

After running down from Madison to Randolph and back, I ran through the first color zone, which is where the fun starts. Volunteers throw and squirt the colored powder at the runners, which is delightful (the powder has the smell and feel of talc). While the run organizers suggest people who don’t wish to be too powdered stick to the middle of the route, I don’t remember seeing anyone who did this.

EVERYONE wanted the color, to the point where at the yellow station, (I ran through, orange, yellow, pink and blue), there was a bottleneck as people slowed down to collect their color. If I were feeling super-competitive that day I would have been annoyed but the temperature was already in the 80’s so I didn’t mind a little break.

One part of the race that could have used some improvement was water dispersal. I was feeling competitive enough to skip the super-crowded water station on the route because I figured I’d get water at the end of the race. However, the water table after the finish line was also too crowded to penetrate in a timely manner. I feel like water should be the one thing you should have no problem accessing after a race. I also didn’t see any food handouts either, such as bananas. There was a tent where you could line up and get a free bottle of coconut water but coconut water is for people with no taste buds. So the water situation was a little bit lacking.

After the race I met up with my husband, who is not quite as enthusiastic a runner as I am. He was proud of himself for running the whole thing. And, to my surprise, suggested heading to the post-party for a little bit, where, periodically, cannons shot out Costco-sized loads of color. My husband, and I say this lovingly, can sometimes be a bit of a hater—if you want to talk smack about something a lot of people like that he dislikes for that very reason, he is usually your guy. But I was happy to enter the party zone with him.

There’s something undeniably childish and awesome about dancing to loud music in a big blinding cloud of colorful dust while totally sober and dirty. For a few moments visibility was nil and it was a hot sweaty claustrophobic mess but it was wonderful (I was especially happy to get some new bursts of color on me because my color had mixed into a muddy greenish brown by the time I was all done.)

Afterwards, we did get our photo taken in the Chevy tent after all and uploaded pictures of us to social media despite of, not because of, the DJ exhorting everyone there to do so. We gave into the fun, sponsorships and all. Then took the bus home. I highly recommend, at least once in your life, being one of the weirdest looking people on the bus for once. It will make you realize how strenuously people have been trained to ignore CTA oddness.

In all, despite the commercialism and organizational snafus, I did have a great time on the Color Run and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some good clean dirty non-competitive athletic fun. I think it would be fun to take the kid to it in a few years. And yes, I did get most of the color out of our clothes, although it’s been two full days since the race and I am still coming up with blue boogers.

'God is not a bully' spreads message of love to LGBTQ people

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:10:00 -0500

When I came out in my church I was 16 and still wearing ascots for ties. I was a mop of hair looking for guidance in the faith that had given me a home. I chose to be a Baptist because of its overt grounding in community and its personalism over the Latin coldness of my mother’s Catholicism. Being a Baptist was a call to dance, and there can’t be a revolution without dancing.

Then I was called into the Pastor’s office. He gave me a choice. I could choose either my “desires” or my religion. The church could never be a home for my perversion.

But it wasn’t just God’s flock that was after me. God himself was waiting for me—with a sniper rifle. The Pastor told me about the high rates of HIV, depression, suicide and death from drug use in the gay community as empirical evidence of divine wrath.

“God’s waiting to cut you down,” he claimed. “And he’ll get you eventually, when you least expect it.”

I left the church, where I’d been renowned for my poetry. I even placed in a national competition for it, but I felt like that voice would never be heard. I hugged the people who loved me goodbye, the ones who vocally supported my coming out. They felt like I could make a difference.

However, the pastor’s hate spoke louder. I wasn’t strong enough yet to let Him hate me, so I gave him up. I closed the door.

A new movement is working to tear down the barriers to entry for those who have been excluded from the church and told they didn’t fit the definition of God’s love. God Is Not a Bully is a video project in which LGBTQ people share the message that “God is love, not hate” by telling their personal experiences of religion and finding embrace for exactly who they are, all of it.

“I know that the bullying rhetoric of religion and of people in power in the Church has a devastating effect on queer people,” Cathy Knight, the project’s Executive Director, said. “Young people in particular look up to clergy folks, believe what they say as authority as they develop their own belief system. When clergy espouse that LGBTQ people are an abomination and a sin, that message is internalized. The shame and heartache begins.”

For Knight, this speaks to her own journey as a person of faith, where she and many of her friends struggled with the pain that comes from feeling like you have nowhere to belong.

“I attended United Methodist Churches for years, hearing the annual sermon that I was a sinner because of my sexual orientation," Knight said. “The confusion of the message and how I felt about myself had to be numbed out. I turned to drugs to stay sane. I was a drug addict, but I kept going to church.”

She found spiritual guidance by discovering a congregation that affirmed multiplicity of identities, where she could be an out lesbian who also followed the message of Jesus Christ. Knight believes that there’s an internal struggle within the church right now toward opening the doors and closing the windows, where the Pope can say that atheists can be good people and go to heaven but the institution of the church retracts it.

“It’s hard to change something that often doesn’t want to change,” Knight said.

God Is Not a Bully doesn’t hope to change religion, but provide a resource for its queer followers.

Anna DeShawn, the founder of E3 Radio and a collaborator on the project, says that many single out queer people for marginalization by highlighting the Clobber scriptures—or the Bible verses devoted to condemning homosexuality—and taking a literal interpretation.

“They’re used to control people,” DeShawn said. “If we did that for every verse in the Bible, we wouldn’t eat meat and we would be sacrificing sons.”

DeShawn hopes that sharing the stories will challenge the restrictive messages of hate and reclaim God by changing the conversation.

“We embarked upon this project to uplift and encourage young people who are struggling with their sexuality and their faith,” DeShawn said. “The stories that have been shared are real and my hope is that the message will touch the hearts of those that watch."

In a video on the project's website, Emily McConnell discusses her own personal understanding of religion as a child, inspired by her diverse upbringing.

“I didn’t agree with any fundamentalist idea of God,” McConnell said. “I didn’t agree with anybody who told me that any group of people were automatically condemned for something they didn’t have a choice in."

Instead McConnell understood God as “universal” and his love as “extending to those of all kinds.”

“Any kind of sexuality [is] a gift from God,” she argued.

You can find McConnell’s story along with those of others on the God Is Not a Bully website. The campaign will post videos throughout the month of June for pride month.

Their videos won’t open every window to religion. But for queer religious people struggling in the dark like I was, they offer some much needed light.

Nico Lang writes about LGBTQ issues in Chicago. You can follow Nico on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

Female artists shaking up Chicago's music scene

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Good news, Chicago music fans: the ladies are killing it.

Boxx Magazine, a new Chicago-based publication that aims to balance gender inequality in media and give female artists the coverage they deserve, has observed a significant upswing in women making music.

"There is a definite increase in the number of female artists—I'd say even more so in the more alternative, heavier or underground genres where there is an increase in female attendance at shows as well," said Jordan Young, publisher and co-founder of Boxx.

Many of the year's breakout stars have been women producing their own heart-stoppingly transcendent work (like Silence Yourself, the explosive debut from British punk rock band Savages), and the women of Chicago are no exception.

So, in no particular order, here are my top Chicago music acts with some serious girl power:

Girl Group Chicago

Looking for a mix of 1960s girl group, bubblegum, soul and garagey goodness? Led by founder and lead vocalist Shana East, Girl Group consists of 20 talented women from different local projects (Bare Mutants, Mucca Pazza and Hollows to name a few) who have combined their love of '60s girl groups like The Shangri-Las and their passion for fashion into an electrifying stage experience. Their "wall of sound" includes a five-piece horn section, a trio of strings and lush backup vocals to supplement those perfectly retro A-line dresses and riot grrrl rock band guitars.

What's next? Opening for Neko Case, Young the Giant and Mavis Staples at the Hideout Block Party & AV Fest Sept. 6-7.

Emily Morse (of Glass Lux)

As one half of the Euro-pop duo Glass Lux (her partner is local producer/DJ Alfanso Mayen), Morse sings with a voice that haunts, soothes and excites in equal measure. Over Mayen's synth beats and pulsing electronica, she fits the "Itala disco" bill to a tee: beautiful, mysterious and endlessly unique.

What's next? A roller-rink music video for the song "Disco Light."

Angel Olsen

Olsen is a gifted psych folk songstress who has been on the scene for a while, garnering heaps of critical praise for her second album (Half Way Home, released in September 2012) and signing with major indie label JagJaguwar. Still, the Chicago-based singer/songwriter hasn't forgotten her roots.

What's next? Performing at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park on July 19.

Tink

Chicago has catapulted several male rappers into the national spotlight (Kanye, Lupe, Common, etc.) and now it's the women's turn to shine. One of the most impressive female rappers to emerge this year is Tink, an 18-year-old powerhouse from Calumet City who is taking her R&B mixtape songs and bubbly personality all the way to superstardom.

What's next? A show in Budapest, Hungary (with Kid Ink and Mikkey Halsted) on July 25.

Gretta Rochelle (of My Gold Mask)

As the female vocalist and drummer of goth-pop outfit My Gold Mask (Jack Armando provides male vocals and guitar, while James Andrew backs them up with electronic drums and keyboard), Rochelle is a lightning rod of art-nouveau magic. Her voice is spooky and versatile, and her ever-hypnotic onstage presence never fails to elevate Gold Mask's futuristic-gypsy "music in the dark" to new heights.

What's next: The Magic Stick Lounge in Detroit on July 20 and the Hideout on June 21.

Jessee Rose Crane (of The Funs)

For a rambunctious yet expertly-controlled party of fuzzy punk and trash-pop, The Funs may be the band to beat. Crane is the perfect complement to partner Philip Jerome Plesicko; in fact, they switch roles on guitar and drums so effortlessly that they could the same person. That's what is so mesmerizing about Crane: her gender doesn't define her music or her onstage persona. She just rocks.

What's next: A summer tour and a show at the Empty Bottle on July 17.

Other awesome Chicago ladies worth a listen: Heather Smith of Bone & Bell, Rebecca Scott of Panda Riot, LStreetz, Blizzard Babies, Jennifer Hall, Sophie Leigh of Videotape, Summer Girlfriends, and of course, the legendary Patricia Barber.

Who else would you add to this list? Chicago is bursting at the seams with female music talent, and I want to hear them! Sound off in the comments below.

Leah Pickett writes about popular culture for WBEZ. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

List: Upcoming Zulkey events

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:09:00 -0500

I will be appearing at, hosting, or merely attending some fun events in the near future, so if you're looking for something to do in the city in the next month or two, look no further!

June 19: Guts & Glory at Powell's. I will be reading a personal piece about my sick need to know the mean things people say or write about me at this series hosted by Keith Ecker and Samantha Irby. Learn more about it here.

June 25: Lily Koppel at the MCA. Zulkey.com interviewee Lily Koppel will be reading from her new book The Astronaut's Wives Club. I predict it will be an awesome time.

June 29: The Kates. It's an all-lady humor night at the Book Cellar, my favorite bookstore! Walk around Lincoln Square, drink some wine, have a laugh, eat some dinner. You could really do a lot worse, you know?

July 19: Funny Ha-Ha: Hot & Bothered. Fun! Chicago's favorite literary humor reading series returns with some old friends and new faces. Make sure you save the date.

Changing Roseland

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:00:00 -0500

This section of Michigan Avenue runs along the top of a ridge, and was originally a trail used by the native peoples. In the early 20th Century, the State Street streetcar line was extended via Michigan to 119th Street, and a shopping strip developed. That's a postwar PCC streetcar in the 1955 photo.

Gately's Peoples Store, long a fixture on the Michigan Avenue, closed during the 1980s. The streetcars have been replaced by buses, too.

McPier now seeks better architecture for DePaul event center

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Fearing the planned $195 million sports arena near McCormick Place could be an architectural missed-shot, McPier officials today announced they have redrafted the search for architects in hopes of getting a better design for the project.

Jim Reilly, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority—the agency commonly nicknamed "McPier"—said the original request for qualifications for architects was "pretty specific to firms who had experience with sports facilities." McPier's original conceptual drawings of the project appear with this post. The peak-roofed building in the center of the above image represents the arena.

Reilly said the new pitch is aimed at also getting top-drawer architects who have never designed sports facilities, but would be willing to team with firms that have.

"The Jeanne Gangs of the world—and I don't mean to point to her specifically," Reilly said, referencing the MacArthur Fellow whose firm, Studio Gang, designed Aqua Tower at Columbus and Randolph. "This way, some well-known or up-and-coming designer with no arena experience can apply. And in Phase 2 [of the process] they can team up with someone who does know that. That's our hope."

But can potentially better architecture make the project go down easier among critics who believe the 10,000-seat areana is a bad fit for the area? The center, which will also contain meeting spaces and will also be home to the DePaul Blue Demon basketball program, is planned for an area bounded by 21st Street, Indiana Avenue, Cermak Road, and Prairie Avenue?

"It's a tall order to come up with a design that can accommodate everything they want to accommodate," said Tina Feldstein, president of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance, a group that opposes the stadium. "It's a bad deal, period. No matter which way you slice it or dice it."

Reilly said designing the stadium in a relatively small site near a residential neighborhood could be a tricky enterprise.

"While I don't agree with the neighbors who just don't want [us] to build, I do agree with them that the typical arena has blank walls," Reilly said. "We don't want a blank wall...."

Under the plan, architects would submit their qualifications and experience to McPier officials. The agency, with the help of advisors, would select three to five finalists who would each receive a $50,000 stipend to submit detailed design concepts in a second phase. The winner would be picked by late August. McPier used a similar tact last year to select a design firm in charge of renovating Navy Pier. James Corner Field Operations won the bid and the competition drew proposals from world-class architects such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Chicago's SOM.

Reilly said he wasn't sure if the stadium would attract architects of that caliber, "but that is our hope."

The project also includes a 1,200 room hotel announced with the stadium on March 16. Reilly said the architect selected for the stadium would also be called to create design guidelines for an adjacent 500-room hotel to be developed later by a yet-to-be-selected private developer. He said the new approach won't affect the pricetag. The project is being supported with $70 million from DePaul, $70 million in bonds sold by McPier and $55 million in city of Chicago tax increment finance funds.

Lee Bey blogs about architecture for WBEZ. Follow him @LEEBEY.

Out, damned teeth!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:29:00 -0500

I used to brag about my teeth for two reasons:

I have never had a cavity.
I only had two wisdom teeth.

Thank you, good genes. Dentists did recommend I get my shorthanded supply of wizzies (that's a cool nickname I've come up with for "wisdom teeth") pulled, but I suspected they were just trying to make a quick buck. They were fine. They were better than fine. They were mine and awesome.

We all know that pride goeth before the fall, though, and that fall occurred when my new dentist proclaimed that my wisdom teeth needed to come out, and she demonstrated this by showing me, in the mirror, how riddled with cavities they were. I felt ashamed. I ran a half marathon. I got my master’s degree. I gave birth to a baby. Yet I was somehow unable to stick my toothbrush a half inch further back in my mouth to prevent them from rotting.

Well, screw those teeth. They were ruining my perfect cavity-free record, so I would finally have them removed, out of spite more than anything else.

I went to consult with the oral surgeon a few weeks ago but the experience did not fill me with confidence. I was led to an examining room that displayed a pillow with the phrase “Botox saved my marriage” needlepointed onto it and a framed piece of art chronicling the evolution of pubic hair through the decades. Um, what? (You can go here to check out this not-quite-safe-for-work image yourself.)

For some reason, pop culture has bestowed a creepy sex vibe upon dentistry. We saw it in Little Shop of Horrors, with the masochistic Orin Scrivello. Then there was Seinfeld, where Bryan Cranston may or may not have done something bad to Jerry while he was under sedation. Then there was the female rapist character played by Jennifer Aniston in Horrible Bosses. And most recently there was a disturbing call to the Savage Love podcast from a woman who wished to be sexually manipulated while in the dentist’s chair. Something about the power exchange made dentists seem like icky sexual puppetmasters.

So you can imagine that this hilarious framed image did not make me want to get put under anytime soon.

“Uh, what’s with that drawing?” I asked the hygienist, who barely seeemed to register it.

The oral surgeon wasn’t much more helpful.

“A woman who performs cosmetic procedures works in this office,” he explained to me.

I’m not that prudish but I didn’t want to see a drawing, even in cartoon form, of a woman’s clearly-defined labia during a weekday in the Loop. ESPECIALLY at the dentist’s office. Once the dentist was done consulting with me, I considered throwing the frame in the trash but merely turned it around to face the wall, hoping to give its owner a hint.

Back to the teeth. I was told that in terms of knocked-out-ness, I had the following choices:

Novocaine
laughing gas, which the hygienist said would make me feel like I’d had a few glasses of wine
an IV sedative where I would be almost totally unconscious but not quite
being completely knocked out

Novocaine was out because I didn't want to witness any part of the procedure, let alone a needle in my gum. Three glasses of wine did not seem sufficient for how litle I wanted to feel. The prospect of going completely under scared me almost as much as the prospect of getting my teeth pulled out. What if I never woke up? Was I really going to get the same treatment for tooth removal as people do for serious surgery? So I decided to go for the IV.

The prospect of the surgery scared me much more than the idea of labor that struck me when I was eight months pregnant, (because the beauty of pregnancy is that by the end, you are so sick of being pregnant that you don’t care what happens.) However, my teeth were much less obtrusive than the very active fetus in my abdomen. After labor, I would be rewarded with a baby and an unpregnant body, but after my wisdom teeth came out, there would be no reward. I would just have two fewer teeth. I was worried that the IV wouldn’t work. I was worried that I would feel everything. I was worried that I would hear my teeth coming out. I was worried that I would see my bloody long rooty tooth after it was extracted. I was worried I would throw up. I was worried about "dry socket," whatever that was. I read as much as I could about IV sedation (and unwisely watched a video of a woman getting her wisdom teeth out while she was under it; she seemed a little too conscious for my taste.) Even though everything I read about the IV said that it was awesome, I was not satisfied because not a single article said, "Here is what you, Claire Zulkey, will feel when you get your wisdom teeth out."

The morning of, I asked my husband not to make fun of me or take my picture or take any videos of me after the surgery (“Why do you think I’m evil?” he asked.) When he dropped me off and asked whether he should wait for me or come to pick me up, I got panicky and said “I don’t know, you decide!” before fleeing the car. I nervous-pooped. I considered asking for a Valium. I had been warned that I had maybe waited too long to do this, and that it could be difficult. My poor coworker Carrie at work had come in several days after her wisdom teeth had come out with awful-looking green and brown bruises striping her throat. Jesus.

But sometimes things work exactly the way you’re told they will. After getting hooked up to some monitors and having an oxygen nub placed over my nose, the dentist chit-chatted with me as he put in my IV. He told me a story that seemed incredibly tedious about going to a square dance and knowing the guy who was calling the dances despite not hearing from him in 40 years. We talked about children. My legs started to feel relaxed but my heart was still pounding furiously. Then I closed my eyes and I opened them again and I was all done. I didn’t hear, see or feel a thing, not even the IV coming out. The whole event lasted 20 minutes (thanks to the superiority of my only-two teeth which had long broken through and were not impacted.)

Here is where I wish I had some hilarious anecdotes about how loopy I was after my teeth came out, and maybe actually a funny video where I mourned my teeth or something, but sometimes things just work out the way people say they will. I was led to a recovery room where I texted with a friend. My husband arrived and I got my medicine. I went home and relaxed while he went and bought me some supplies for liquidy eating. I watched "30 Rock" and "Community." I discovered I enjoyed blended-up chicken noodle soup. I chilled out on some painkillers. It all went well. The doctor did a great job. Next time I will perhaps not judge so harshly when I visit an office that has a ribald drawing of the female anatomy on display.

(No, I probably will.)

Second City co-founder Bernard Sahlins dies at 90

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:07:00 -0500

Comedy fans know the names — John Belushi, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Joan Rivers — but before those famous faces graced Hollywood movies or the "Saturday Night Live" stage they were discovered by Bernie Sahlins, co-founder of The Second City.

Alumni of the Chicago comedy club spent Monday remembering Sahlins, who died Sunday at age 90, as an innovator who along with business partners Howard Alk and Paul Sills opened the theater in December 1959. It quickly gained national attention and helped establish Chicago as a vibrant comedy town.

"Bernie was absolutely crucial in the formative years of Second City, as important a figure as it's ever had," said comedian and actor Robert Klein, who went on from Second City in 1965 to star on television series and in movies.

Second City caught on within months of opening, despite some early money problems and other issues. It became instrumental in the growth and development of improvisational and sketch comedy.

Sahlins had an eye for talent, and he hired and nurtured the early careers of numerous future stars.

"Bernie saved my life," actor Alan Arkin is quoted as saying in Sheldon Patinkin's 2000 book, "The Second City: Backstage at the World's Greatest Comedy Theater." ''Second City wasn't a theater ensemble to me, it was a halfway house ... Bernie not only gave me a job, he took me in. I became his family, he became my family — the first family that I even had and loved."

Patinkin, who serves as Second City's artistic consultant, said his longtime friend played a critical role not just in establishing the theater but also in recruiting the talent.

"He was great at it," Patinkin said. "Look at the list of our alumni, many of them were found by Bernie. Bernie was really good at picking out the right ones."

In his 2002 memoir, "Days and Nights at the Second City," Sahlins seemed aware of that influence.

"For somehow this tiny venture quickly became an important phenomenon in the recent history of theatre, heralded for its contribution to popular entertainment," he wrote. "One reason is, I believe, that we never thought of ourselves as popular entertainers."

Instead, colleagues remembered Sahlins as an intellectual who graduated from the University of Chicago and brought those edgy smarts with him to Second City.

"You had to work from the top of your intelligence," said comedian David Steinberg, who was with Second City in 1964 and has worked on television shows such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Mad About You." ''That was the rule that Second City broke in comedy: don't talk down to an audience ever; talk to the smartest person in the audience."

Michael McCarthy interned under Sahlins in 1981 and has written for "Saturday Night Live," ''Sesame Street" and Comedy Central. He said Sahlins would talk endlessly about the mission of comedy and tell him to "always, always, always ask yourself, 'What are you trying to say, and is it funny?'"

Ramis, former cast member turned director-writer-actor-producer, told The Associated Press in 2009 that Sahlins brought a higher-brow style to comedy.

"It was OK to be smart," Ramis said. "It was OK to be intellectual."

And George Wendt, famous for "Cheers" before his time at Second City, told AP in 2009 that Sahlins demoted him to the touring company from the main stage.

"He thought I was playing it too safe," Wendt said. "He wanted me to loosen up."

Klein remembered Sahlins as an intellectual, but fun boss who loved cigars.

"Not the kind who would put a lamp shade on his head at a party, but he had opinions on everything," Klein said.

Andrew Alexander, who along with business partner Len Stuart bought The Second City from Sahlins in 1985, said Sahlins will be remembered for always urging performers to work at the top of their intellect.

"You think about that theater, and think of all the stars that came out of it ... from Belushi to (Dan) Aykroyd to Alan Arkin. It's extraordinary, the amount of talented people that came out of it," Alexander said.

Klein said he owes a great deal to Sahlins for hiring him.

"I went to the Yale drama school and that wasn't nearly as valuable as making $150 a week at Second City," Klein said.

Old Maxwell Street remembered on film

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:00:00 -0500

It's been 20 years since the first eviction notices were served on the vendors of old Maxwell Street; the opening salvo in a preservation battle that wiped away the Near West Side open-air market.

For decades, the area flanking Halsted just south of Roosevelt was a bustling, decaying place where you could find anything from clothes to car tires—all set against a sonic backdrop of electric blues musicians who jammed out in the open for shoppers.

What an incredible place. Of course, it's all gone now and replaced by a sedate neighborhood of residences, restaurants and facilities for the University of Illinois at Chicago. The university was the prime mover behind the redevelopment.

This brings us to the above video: a clip from the 1981 film Maxwell Street Blues. The 56-minute documentary by Raul Zaritsky and Linda Williams shows the neighborhood as it was and focuses and the folk who made the music there. Facets Multimedia has a DVD of the film.

The market still exists, but as a city-regulated, Sundays-only event on Des Plaines Street north of Roosevelt. Vendors set up shop, but the whole thing vanishes—like Brigadoon—until the next week. Frankly, I miss the old place.

Let's close with another vintage view of Maxwell Street from 1980 movie The Blues Brothers:

Why actors deserve our respect

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:00:00 -0500

Friends may outright tell you that acting is a terrible career choice, or barely conceal their judgment behind a condescending smirk.

However, what these people may not realize is that actors are skilled professionals (no matter how much or how little they get paid) and that acting is more than just strutting around a stage and looking pretty for a camera. If forced to deliver a monologue before an audience of thousands, they might have a better appreciation for what actors do every 18-hour day on a film set or eight shows a week on Broadway.

Acting is hard work. Those who pursue acting as a career often work full-time jobs during the day, then hurry off to auditions on their lunch breaks and to the theater for rehearsals and shows at night. They eat, sleep and breathe their craft, sacrificing other more lucrative job offers in favor of their first love. Actors are a passionate bunch, and many have the jaw-dropping talent to merit star status alongside professional musicians, authors and athletes—even if they never acheive it.

Yes, some actors are hired for plum roles on film and television solely because of their looks or family connections (see Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III and Megan Fox in everything). However, other rising A-listers who are not conventionally attractive (like Steve Buscemi on Boardwalk Empire, the great Tilda Swinton and Chicago's own Michael Shannon) succeed because they are astoundingly good at what they do.

The act of "acting" is harder than it looks. Although pretending to fall in love with Johnny Depp might not look like the hardest job in the world, imagine the real-life scenario. Under the pressure of hot lights, multiple camera angles and several dozen crew members watching with bated breath, just remembering lines (not to mention delivering them well and performing convincingly) is a rare and truly impressive skill.

Many of the best film actors working today (Meryl Streep, Edward Norton, Al Pacino, etc.) first honed their skills in the theater. Myriads more have studied under the rigorous acting tenets of Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg, devoting themselves completely to an art that few people can master, and even fewer actually acknowledge or respect as a viable career.

Good acting deserves to be seen and celebrated. Go to the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens or practically any other small storefront theater in Chicago to see the sublime acting talent that our city has to offer. For a better understanding of film actors and the intense work that goes into their craft, watch Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton (recommended episodes: Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman and Kate Winslet).

Not everyone has what it takes to be a great actor; but to study acting as a true art form is a noble pursuit, and certainly worthy of respect. In the words of legendary acting coach Stella Adler, "Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one."

Leah Pickett writes about popular culture for WBEZ. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.