Staff columns
Ask Amy
Does wrong number require a call back? - November 23, 2013 - Dear Amy: Recently, I misdialed my phone while attempting to call my husband.
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Christopher Borrelli
The trouble with Vince Vaughn and his new movie 'Delivery Man' - November 22, 2013 - Last week in Vince Vaughn news, the following happened: Vince Vaughn visited David Letterman. He wore a dark suit. He spoke in his familiar, over-confident rat-a-tat. He explained that, as a native of Chicago (actually, Lake Forest), he likes to...
Barbara Brotman
Brotman: Nothing is sacrosanct in a book purge - November 18, 2013 - Henry David Thoreau, I thought, might understand.
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Steve Chapman
JFK and the perils of visionary government - November 21, 2013 - Extravagance can be intoxicating, and those who grow accustomed to extravagance, only to be deprived of it, can miss it terribly. That accounts for much of the powerful hold John F. Kennedy has on a generation of Americans even today. He led people...
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Mark Caro
Long and winding biography delves into Beatles' early years - November 15, 2013 - Paul McCartney's new album, "New," includes a song called "Early Days" that sounds almost like a preemptive strike on Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn:
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Bill Daley
Looking for hot milk cake - November 19, 2013 - Q: My mother has been looking for a recipe that her mom used to make. It's called Hot Milk Cake. She said that her mom probably started making it around the 1940s when she lived in Virginia. None of my grandmother's siblings...
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Julie Deardorff
The rooming in debate: Readers respond - November 21, 2013
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Teddy Greenstein
NU's Fitzgerald needs to take more risks - November 21, 2013 - Saturday marks a clash between a riverboat gambler and a guy who plays penny slots.
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David Haugh
Bears' Bass is opening eyes - November 21, 2013 - Watching a grainy high school videotape that made it tough to see anything but a guy in dreadlocks dominating, Missouri Western State football coach Jerry Partridge reacted the same way five years ago many Bears fans did Sunday.
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Melissa Harris
Study: Progress of Chicago businesswomen as board members and executives is slow - November 21, 2013 - At the current rate, women will achieve equal representation in the boardrooms and executive ranks of Chicago's largest companies in 2084.
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Philip Hersh
Notre Dame men's soccer knocked down a peg - November 18, 2013 - A loss in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and the likely loss of its No. 1 ranking did not keep the Notre Dame men's soccer team from a high seed and first-round bye in the 48-team NCAA tournament.
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Jon Hilkevitch
Ventra's transit benefits program also a problem - November 18, 2013 - As the nation's second-largest transit system struggles to debug the unruly Ventra fare-payment system, another apparent Ventra glitch is also testing the patience of some customers.
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Rex Huppke
What's more fair than fairness at work? - November 18, 2013 - Most of us walk around with an unfairness detector in our heads, and we're at our happiest when that detector is not going: Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!
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Chris Jones
Are arts donors also arts leaders? - November 23, 2013 - If a wealthy person writes a large check to a worthy cultural organization, does that constitute an act of leadership? It's an interesting question.
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Blair Kamin
U.S. falling short in skyscraper competition - November 17, 2013 - The real news about Tuesday's ruling that 1 World Trade Center stands to become America's tallest building was left unsaid: These days, being America's tallest building is like being in the running for a bronze medal in the Olympics — with...
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Gregory Karp
Mind over math: How best to erase debt? - November 15, 2013 - In the debt-advice business, the most confounding question always seems to be: Which debts should consumers pay off first, ones with the highest interest rates or the smallest amounts?
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John Kass
Libraries are for free books, not free porn - November 22, 2013 - There's nothing like taking some family time at the local public library when the kids are out of school during the holidays.
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Rick Kogan
When Billy Corgan's wrestlers came to Fenger - November 15, 2013 - Famous as he is in other city neighborhoods, suburbs and countries across the globe, Billy Corgan was just another tall, bald, white guy wearing a Bears jersey (No. 1), standing against the gymnasium wall at Christian Fenger Academy High School...
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Gail MarksJarvis
Size up tax hit before adjusting portfolio - November 22, 2013 - With the stock market up 25 percent this year, and some mutual funds up 30 percent or more, some investors are getting itchy to sell winners and make sure they pocket the full benefit before a possible downturn.
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Nina Metz
The real Masters & Johnson-- and their TV counterparts - November 21, 2013 - It's one thing to study human sexuality in the Midwest in the 1950s. It is yet quite another to find willing participants. But William Masters and Virginia Johnson — the St. Louis-based researchers who would become famous as America's...
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Josh Noel
A restaurant with two faces - November 23, 2013 - There is something odd, if not disconcerting, about spying a $92 menu item during breakfast.
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Clarence Page
Are women in politics more honest? - November 13, 2013 - What, I wonder, explains the gender gap in political corruption?
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Michael Phillips
Inequality and its toll roil changing China in 'Touch of Sin' ★★★ 1/2 - November 21, 2013 - A brutally eloquent panorama of modern China, "A Touch of Sin" amalgamates four stories of violent revenge, inspired by factual events, to create a treatise on socioeconomic injustice and where it can lead.
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Mike Mulligan
Road mark determining factor in success - November 19, 2013 - The Bears embark on the clarifying journey of their 2013 season with most observers unsure if the team is on the road to glory or the road to perdition.
Mary Ellen Podmolik
Tougher to find affordable housing in Chicago area - November 22, 2013 - Housing affordability in the Chicago area just took its biggest quarterly tumble since early 2005.
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Howard Reich
Joyous early jazz from the Fat Babies - November 22, 2013 - For anyone who values early period jazz played at an inspired technical and artistic level, Thursday night was a significant occasion in Chicago.
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Phil Rogers
Phil Rogers' MLB power rankings - October 1, 2013 - Last week's ranking in parentheses
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Steve Rosenbloom
Long day coming, Howie - November 21, 2013 - Howie Long is taking Sunday off from work for the first time in 20 years.
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Phil Rosenthal
Rosenthal: Would a law firm by any other name smell as sweet? - November 20, 2013 - "A good name is better than precious ointment."
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Ed Sherman
Harrelson 'honored' to be Frick finalist - November 12, 2013 - Jerry Reinsdorf is talking up Ken Harrelson, who rarely needs help calling attention to himself.
Mary Schmich
French map of Chicago ironically much like city's own - November 20, 2013 - Do not go west, young Frenchman.
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Heidi Stevens
Some better ways to cope with toddler's tantrums - November 17, 2013 - The universe (or one of my co-workers) was sending me a message when a book titled "Say This, Not That" landed on my desk.
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Dawn Turner Trice
Marriage dissolves, love and respect endure - November 20, 2013 - Endings can be difficult. Just ask Chicago's very own Ina "The Breakfast Queen" Pinkney, who will close her restaurant, Ina's, for good on Dec. 31.
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Phil Vettel
Phil Vettel recommends - November 21, 2013 - Part harvest festival, part good excuse to drink wine, the annual release of Beaujolais nouveau takes place the third Thursday in November. Beaujolais nouveau is a light, fruity, food-friendly and fun red wine meant to be enjoyed young, and...
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John von Rhein
Thomas' eloquent Mahler 9th Symphony ranks with CSO's best - November 22, 2013 - It was altogether fitting that Michael Tilson Thomas chose Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during a weekend when the nation is marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F....
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Ellen Warren
Shopping for athletic shoes can work up a sweat - November 22, 2013 - There's been a lot of reader angst over shoes lately. But Angel's got your back. Or your feet. Or … whatever.
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Jen Weigel
Finding the right relationship is an inside job - November 12, 2013 - If you think there's no such thing as a good man, Niecy Nash is ready to set you straight.
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Jon Yates
Problem Solver: Daughter awaits payout from mom's old insurance policy - November 21, 2013 - Martha Johnson was born Dec. 3, 1900. She died Jan. 10, 1998.
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Eric Zorn
What to expect now that we're expecting same-sex marriage - November 20, 2013 - So tell Uncle Chester: Don't worry, gay people don't want to marry you.
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Other columns
Mario Batali
Salsify Frittelle highlight rare taste of the season - November 22, 2013 - Q: Mario, can you recommend a seasonal side dish for the holidays?
Matt Bowen
Inside breaking pass routes can hurt Rams - November 21, 2013 - The Bears and quarterback Josh McCown will have an opportunity Sunday in St. Louis to attack the Rams' pressure schemes with inside breaking routes that target man-coverage.
Dennis Byrne
Are Democrats still Obamacare believers? - November 19, 2013 - President Barack Obama isn't the only politician who falsely promised that Americans could keep their health insurance under Obamacare.
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Steve Dale
A mix of wet and dry food seems best for most cats - November 21, 2013 - Q: I recently discovered your radio show and listen each week from Spain. My husband and I are researching the best food possible for our cat. There is great debate over dry food vs. wet. What do you recommend? -- A.M.V., Madrid, Spain
Howard Dakoff
Closed meetings by board are never a good practice - November 22, 2013 - Q: I am an owner in a town home association whose budget is below the threshold for the Common Interest Community Association Act to apply to our association. Without binding statutory authority, the board routinely meets and conducts business...
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Meghan Daum
Davion Only and the foster care conundrum - October 25, 2013 - Born to a mother in prison, 15-year-old Davion Only has been in foster care all his life. Last month he walked into a church in St. Petersburg, Fla., and pleaded for a family of his own.
Christopher Elliott
Do you have enough time to make your flight connection? - November 19, 2013 - When Mike Conrad bought an airline ticket from Washington, D.C., to Berlin, the last thing he considered was his connection in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Amy Ephron
At her kosher restaurant, Steven Spielberg's mother embodies spirit of Hanukkah - November 22, 2013 - By Anne Stein for Oneforthetable.com
Leah Eskin
Passing the salad bar - November 20, 2013 - Salad comes from sal, as in salt. Once, salad meant greens seasoned with salt. Which remains a good recipe. Rub salt into a heap of kale or red-leaf, and the result is greater than the sum of its parts.
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Jonah Goldberg
Democrats, Republicans failing to live up to brands - November 22, 2013 - If the Republicans can't fight wars and the Democrats stink at socializing medicine, what good are they?
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Ilyce Glink & Samuel Tamkin
What to do with house inherited with sister? - November 23, 2013 - By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
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Victor Davis Hanson
Obamacare-speak fails to mask an evolving fiasco - November 21, 2013 - The Obama administration once gave us "man-caused disasters" for acts of terrorism and "workplace violence" for the Fort Hood shootings. Now it has trumped those past linguistic contortions by changing words to mask the...
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Arianna Huffington
Helping Italians tell their own stories - September 27, 2013 - ROME -- Ciao from Rome, where I'm delighted to announce the launch of L'Huffington Post. I've always had a great fondness for the boot-shaped country and as a Greek, I feel a kinship with a fellow Mediterranean land where someone is always trying...
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Benny L. Kass
Home seller hit with sticker shock after closing - November 22, 2013 - Q: About a month ago, our son sold his home he had owned for nine years. Three years ago, he obtained a loan modification to lower his payments. The title attorney that handled the recent closing received a payoff from the lender.
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Somebody cares: Creating real jobs for autistic youth - November 20, 2013 - DEAR JOYCE: Can you share with your readers some of the efforts being made to find answers to the unhappy and unacceptable job gap faced by thousands of young adults with autism?
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Robert Koehler
'How Long Will I Cry?' gives voice to cries in the wilderness - November 21, 2013 - "The only premise of the book was to just go out and listen."
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Charles Krauthammer
Why liberals are in a full-scale panic about Obamacare - November 18, 2013 - "Even if it takes a change to the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got."
Dan McNeil
Bears' victory could trigger bad decisions - October 17, 2013 - In a simpler time — when we were wide-eyed and fresh-faced — all that mattered was seeing our team win.
Pamela Dittmer McKuen
Associations seeking ways to accommodate renters - November 15, 2013 - The sentiment toward renters in community associations sways like a pendulum.
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Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Top 5 personal coaching myths - December 24, 2011 - Personal coaching is all the rage. Harvard Business Review reports that coaching is a $1 billion a year industry, but just what is a personal coach, professional coach or life coach, and why are so many executives and individuals using them to...
Kathleen Parker
Shutdown, schmutdown - October 3, 2013 - — In life, context is everything; in Washington, leverage is everything else.
Ed Perkins
The big merger: Business wins; consumers lose - November 19, 2013 - Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice essentially caved on its attempt to block the merger between American Airlines and US Airways. It extracted a few face-saving concessions, declared victory and then folded its tent. The merger will now...
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William Pfaff
U.S. pushing new treaties at expense of national sovereignty - November 20, 2013 - PARIS -- The foreign reaction to the National Security Agency revelations that I have heard most has been not only how arrogant Washington has been in spying on its allies but, worse than that, how arrogant everyone in Washington and most of the...
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Remembering a nation in spring - November 20, 2013 - We were never innocent.
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Janet Portman
Ripple effect of guest breaking law - June 7, 2013 - Q: I rent a small one-bedroom and from time to time my grandson, who has had some trouble with the law, stays with me.
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Bill Press
The Kennedy legacy is real and lasting - November 21, 2013 - It was especially poignant to see Caroline Kennedy, America's new ambassador to Japan, present her credentials to Emperor Akihito this week. Coming just three days before the 50th anniversary of her father's assassination in Dallas, it was a...
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Mary Sanchez
Actually, keep your advice ... I'll take a pay raise - November 22, 2013 - Just in time for the holidays, your low-wage employer wants you to know it really cares. And would you mind tidying up the condiment stand on your way to the soup kitchen?
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Daneen Skube
Best advice of 2011 - December 19, 2011 - As many of you sit underneath brilliantly lit trees today opening gifts from "Santa," I'd like to add a few gifts for you to unwrap and launch you into 2012 with more peace, power and productivity. As my loyal readers know, I review my best...
Rick Steves
Chic and classy Milan - November 19, 2013 - They say that for every church in Rome, there's a bank in Milan. The economic success of postwar Italy can be attributed, at least in part, to this city of bankers, publicists and pasta power-lunchers.
Cal Thomas
A personal JFK remembrance - November 21, 2013 - My parents voted for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. I had not yet developed a political worldview, but as a freshman at American University in Washington, D.C., I stayed up late to watch the election returns slowly trickle in...
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks blog: Loyola to play in Naperville invite next season - May 26, 2012 - Loyola will play in the Naperville Invitational next season.
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Mary Umberger
'Cabinologist' builds upon his love for the getaways - November 22, 2013 - A cabin in the woods is probably the ultimate anti-McMansion. It is, at least, if your mindset mirrors that of Dale Mulfinger.
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Bob Weber
Wiper issue frustrating - November 22, 2013 - Q: The windshield wipers will periodically just stop working on our 2009 Chevy Equinox. We never know when it will happen. So far, they have begun working again after several seconds, but then quit again. This poses a safety problem now that...
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Jules Witcover
Jules Witcover: Remembering the national tragedy 50 years ago - November 21, 2013 - WASHINGTON -- Any American old enough remember 50 years ago is likely to recall just how and where he or she heard of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the sorrowful and dramatic days following November 22, 1963, culminating in...
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