Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Video Interview: Aaron Hanania talks about his new book Videographer Steve Neuhaus interviews first-time author Aaron Hanania, 17, discusses his new book “The King’s Pawn”, why he wrote it, what it is about, and some of the key aspects of the characters in the book. Soon to be a high school senior. He urges other…
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Beauty pageants without swimsuits, weather without beautiful women Beauty pageants are just that, about beauty. It doesn’t mean other people are ugly. It means that there are some who are more beautiful. The others only become ugly when we stigmatize the beautiful as being “obscene” and we start to implement politically correct ideas to make…
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Free concerts in Brookfield BritBeat kicks off series Friday evening By Steve Metsch Starting this Friday, the village of Brookfield will offer a summer of free music in the band shell at Kiwanis Park, 8820 Brookfield Ave. Each concert runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. If you’re going, bring a lawn chair or blanket. A…
Countryside concerts return Free music fills Thursday nights this summer By Steve Metsch Billed as a “Passport Through Countryside,” the City of Countryside again presenting its annual Summer Concert Series on Thursday nights through Aug. 2. Each week has a different country for a theme. The series started on June 7 with Rosie & The…
Rock ’n’ roll restaurant backed by KISS stars coming to Oak Lawn Two new restaurants, including one affiliated with KISS stars Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will highlight the beginning of phase two of the Stony Creek Promenade development in Oak Lawn. Rock & Brews is a California-based restaurant chain born out of a post-concert…
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Musicians and Vocalists gather at The Jewish Theological Seminary for Interfaith Song, Prayer Internationally renowned musicians and vocalists from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds come together to sing and pray for the peace and future of the Holy City On June 20 at 7:30 p.m., The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) will host a unique gathering…
Media hypocrisy over Roseanne Barr Roseanne Barr’s racist reference to Valerie Jarrett is irresistible and Barr rightly apologized. But was ABC TV’s decision to punish Roseanne by cancelling her hit TV series revival warranted? Or, is it the result of a double standard fueled by news media bias against Barr because of her open support…
Cheap Trick, Poison shine “Nothin’ But A Good Time” tour is just that By Steve Metsch After an entertaining nine-song set by Pop Evil, a fan wearing a “Hall & Oates 2018” T-shirt asked me – maybe it was my Cheap Trick T-shirt? – why the band from Rockford would open for Poison. The pairing,…
National Hellenic Museum opens exhibit on refugees The National Hellenic Museum announces newest exhibit — Lives Afloat: Representing the Greek Refugee Crisis, opening June 21, 2018. The Nation’s premier Hellenic Museum Portrays Recent History of Refugees in Greece Dedicated to collecting, preserving and portraying the legacy of Greek history and culture in America, the National Hellenic…
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Candlewick Lake & Links Festival June 10 Come Out for a Day of Fun with Your Family & Friends Sunday June 10. Open to the public. Candlewick is a gated community with a large beautiful lake. Non-residents normally require entrance through a resident. But during the Lake and Links Festival, the gates will be open…
Video: autographing copies of The King’s Pawn book Aaron Hanania autographs copies of his new Science Fiction book, “The King’s Pawn,” for fans who purchased the copies online. Get your copy today and enjoy an unusual, unique Science Fiction story from a high school junior who wrote the entire 60,000 words and 194 pages only…
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A “teaching moment” on Roseanne Barr, the media and political hypocrisy Roseanne Barr said something stupidly racist about Valerie Jarrett and Jarrett responded saying we should take it as a “teaching moment.” But what kind of “teaching moment” can we have in an America that is deeply divided, caught in the middle between extremist politics…
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Silence is not golden when eating at the movie theaters From drive-in movies in the 1950s and 1960s where we could eat and even bring our own food to the super digital movies where you can have dinner delivered to your seat. It’s great to be able to eat, but once-in-awhile, some movies are not…
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Teenager uses iPhone 6 to write his first novel A 16 year old teenager from Chicago’s Southwest suburbs has published his first novel, “TheKing’s Pawn.” And Aaron Hanania explains he wrote the book only using his iPhone 6. Here’s the plot: A scientist creates a revolutionary experiment, The King’s Pawn, in which the participants are…
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How did Netflix manage to ruin “Lost in Space?” I grew up pining for science fiction on TV in an age when science fiction was both scary and exciting. One of the best TV series was “Lost in Space” which aired from 1965 until 1968, three seasons, projecting into a future called “1997.” In 1998,…
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A good movie should be about entertainment These days, movie reviewers judge films not by what the audience wants but rather by what they want. Oftentimes, those judgments are driven by issues that pander to social minorities and left-wing liberal preferences. Why can’t we judge films based solely on their entertainment value, rather than on…
Scaled-down works for “Weird Al” Legendary song parody artist shines in laid-back performance By Steve Metsch When you think of “Weird Al” Yankovic, you may think of amusing videos, wild costumes and clever, often hilarious, lyrics that are parodies of hit songs. On Friday night, in the first of two shows at the Vic Theatre…
Magician Ricardo Rosenkranz has the right prescription for a magical show Physician Magician Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz has right prescription for magical entertainment, now playing at The Royal George Theater By Aaron Hanania The Rosenkranz Mysteries is a magic show hosted by Physician Magician, Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz. He is a physician who fell in love with…
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