The Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood has a well-earned reputation as going whole hog -- and then some -- when Christmas rolls around. Leah, Dick and I tool around this sometimes-tony suburb for a look at ways to dress up a McMansion for the holidays.

As you'll hear, the displays range from the simple to the complex. Many feature those inflatable snow-globe displays that have been on sale at every drug and discount store. And some even continue to trot out deacdes-old illuminated Santa Clauses one given out as premiums to customers of Polk Bros., once a major appliance store.

The City of Chicago itself doesn't really go in for a municipal display, although they do run a traditional German Christmas market of sorts in Daley Center. I'm happy to report that my hometown of Denver continues to pull out all the stops in its annual makeover of the City and County Building into a time-exposure Kodak Moment.

To see the 2006 Denver display, check out these excellent images on Flickr.

Denver's been doing its Christmas display as long as I can remember -- and long before that. I hope to visit the display when I'm in the Mile High City in a couple of weeks, assuming the city's continuing the tradition of keeping the lights up until the end of the National Western Stock Show.

I grew up in Denver's western suburbs, and my secular humanist parents never really had much of a problem with the display. What did torque their jaws, however, was that giant illuminated crucifix on the mountain west of town. "What's next?" Mom liked to ask, "a giant neon Coors beer sign?"

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Your humble diners steer the Mobile Recording Studio to Fox River Grove and enjoy the Five O'Clock Steakhouse. On the drive back, we talk about the food, the service, waiters' names (why are "Mike" and "Steve" seemingly the norm in the suburbs, while the city is saddled with "Kyle" and "Cody"?) and Leah's affection for Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Leah also suggests the reason why women enjoy gnawing on bones more than men do: a "viscerally satisfying racial memory" of when the better half was relegated to waiting around the cave for Ugh to bring back a sabertooth tiger for dinner and had to settle for the leavings after the menfolk gorged on the kill.

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Leah, Dick and I start with a fine meal at Rio's D'Sudamerica in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood -- and then progress into conversations about why fresh pineapple screws up Jell-O, the amazing fact (at least to me) that all canned food has actually been cooked, and a brief discussion of why I don't eat rabbit. (It has to do with when I was a kid and our standard-size French poodle, Suzette Francesca da Rimini, got ahold of Carrot, my pet rabbit, and you can guess the rest.)

Speaking of canned food, ever since I was little, I've known that "No. 303" is a common can size. I probably remembered this because growing up in Colorado, that number was our area code, too.

Besides, I like the idea of a recipe calling for a No. 303 can of peas instead of for 2 cups -- or, God forbid -- 480 milliliters. It just feels more comfortable, sort of like those trusty old Wratten filter numbers.

Leah's review of Rio's D'Sudamerica.

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This time out our Mobile Recording Studio braves the deepest, darkest depths of suburbia to visit Strat's Hamburgers in Villa Park, and Drury Lane Theatre and The Cheesecake Factory in Oakbrook.

You can sample some of the music from the show at "Forever Plaid - The Movie." (It's unclear whether the site is attempting to interest investors in a "Forever Plaid" film adaptation or simply using a drive-in movie motif to publicize the stage version.)

As we motor along, Leah, Dick and I also tackle various other topics of crucial importance, including Ed Sullivan, low-carbohydrate diets, Cthulu, H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Fort and Christmas decorations.

COMING SOON
ChicagoScope goes camping in a vintage VW Campmobile.
ChicagoScope goes to Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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Out in Aurora, some 35 miles from my home base in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood, we visit Chef Amaury's Epicurean Affair for some high-class eating.

As we motor along in the Mobile Recording Studio, we also discuss Steak n Shake, which has the distinction of being open 24 hours a day. (At least most of them never close; some municipalities restrict the operating hours of any restaurant.)

During a discussion of how creme brulee is made, I tell how I turned in some art-school student who was using a butane torch to deface a Chicago Transit Authority Ravenswood Line "L" car.

Read Leah's review of Chef Amaury's place.

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Many thanks to Pat Butler for taking time out to explain how he came to found the Church of the Red Ram.

This is not my first experience with homegrown religions. Back in my college days, I secured ministerial credentials from the Universal Life Church, which grants ordination from its California headquarters. I used to have the credential around here somewhere, but it's been long lost for nearly two decades at this point.

I last dared to call myself "the Rev. Leigh Hanlon" back around the time I shot "River Expedition," my ill-fated collegiate attempt at documentary filmmaking. (The link to the movie doesn't work, by the way.)

As I recall, you could request just about any designation on your credential: father, mother, sister, brother, the reverend, reverend mother, cardinal -- for all I know, I could have called myself pontifex maximus.

The church does insist on real names, though. "Frivolous names will be rejected whenever we notice them," the church warns on its website. "If your parents had a sense of humor when naming you, we may reject your application initially, but upon explanation, we will reconsider." (Surely this is joyous news for Moon Unit Zappa.)

I'm not the only one fascinated by the prospect of no-study ministerial certification. According to Wikipedia's entry about the church, my fellow ministers include The Beatles, Art Bell, Johnny Carson, Tony Danza, Sharon Stone and Wolfman Jack.

Universal Life Church website

Universal Life Church on MySpace

Don't miss Pat's jaw-dropping account of the guy who had sex with a cow.

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I took Metra to Arlington Heights on Saturday, but when I arrived, needed to stand outside with minimal protection from a rainstorm. Train stations should be open when trains are operating.

Is this really too much to ask?

See the Arlington Heights station hours, which seem to differ with what's on the front door. (See photo above.)

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We wind up at Superdawg, that famed drive-in icon on Milwaukee near Devon, just shy of Niles. For Leah, Dick and me, however, the evening starts at Sol de Mexico, 3018 N. Cicero Ave., out in Chicago's Belmont-Cragin community for some creative, upscale Mexican food.

Then, we pile into the mobile recording studio and eventually find ourselves in search of dessert ... at Superdawg.

By the way, I was afraid I'd give ourselves away if I popped off a photo outside Sol de Mexico, so all I have here is a picture of Superdawg.

Some associated links:

Leah's review of Sol de Mexico

Pineapple

Cashews

We mentioned its guacamole

Recipe for queso fresco

Seven moles of Oaxaca

"Manchamanteles," by the way, translates as "tablecloth stainer."

The Russian place we talk about just before winding up at Superdawg is a delicatessen called Renee Gourmet, 6247 N. Milwaukee Ave., which apparently sells a lot of smoked fish.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

A couple of days back, I mentioned to my friend Dave ________ that the automated female voice activated when someone pushes the emergency button at Chicago Transit Authority stations is easily the most annoying string of cacophonous words it's been my extreme displeasure to encounter in at least the past decade.

I had assumed this harpylike blast of aural pain to be part of some public-transit accent diversity program. Not so, as Dave explains. Turns out that what I dismissed as the grating, high-pitched intonations of a South Side Anglo-Irish dialect actually reflects an accent change that's cutting a swath through American mouths.

It's called the "northern cities vowel shift" and Dave has been following it for some time.

Related links

NPR: "American Accent Undergoing Great Vowel Shift"

PBS: "Do You Speak American?"

Wikipedia: "Northern cities vowel shift"

Chicago Transit Authority Official site

This is Grand: Stories of Chicago's Rapid Transit

Chicago-L.org - Your Chicago Rapid Transit Internet Resource

Frank Lloyd Wright weighs in on Route 66.

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After work one day last week, Leah and Dick picked me up next to the Jack Brickhouse/Captain Christopher Pike memorial and we pointed the Mobile Recording Studio toward Bucktown.

We had a little time to kill, however, so we stopped in at the relatively new Sunflower Market, which is endeavoring to fill the same ecological niche as Whole Foods.

Sunflower's store, located at 1910 N. Clybourn Ave. in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, is a tentacle of the Supervalu group that owns, among other outlets, Jewel and Albertsons.

Listen to the podcast to find out what we thought of the place. For another opinion (and much better photos), check out Chicagoist. Too bad that F--- Corporate Groceries is no longer being updated; I'd like to hear what her opinion is of Sunflower.

Speaking of Supervalu, Leah is disappointed that Chicago-area Cub Foods stores are being sold. Cub was the only supermarket near her open 24 hours.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

I've long considered the classic "Star Trek" episode "The City of the Edge of Forever" to be the best episode in the original series -- and one of the best episodes in the entire "Trek" franchise. This time-travel tale has all the elements of an opera, right down to a tragic death at the finale.

That's why I nearly lost bladder control when Tribune Media Services columnist Bob Koehler declared that "The City on the Edge of Forever" is, in fact, the worst "Star Trek" episode of all time.

I can't say I agree with Bob, but his logic is pretty sound. Namely, why does setting history straight require Captain Kirk to allow pacifist Edith Keeler to die and derail a growing anti-war movement? Why not kill Adolf Hitler as a child? Or at least make sure he finds a nurturing art teacher.

Well, it's never a good idea to dwell on these things. After all, there are probably people who actually like "The Omega Glory" -- which is indisputably the worst "Star Trek" episode of all time.

While we're on the subject of "Star Trek," I still say the sculpture of Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse (below, left) on display in the plaza next to the Tribune Tower here in Chicago looks too much like Captain Christopher Pike (below, right).



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Here are the continuing adventures -- and final half hour or so -- of our seemingly interminable account of a fine dining experience at Carthage Cafe. The photo above is of window signage at Jake's, a snack shop in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.

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We had a great time at Carthage Cafe, out in Chicago's North Park neighborhood, where we sampled some Tunisian cuisine during Ramadan. This is apparently the only place in Chicago serving food from Tunisia and has been greeted with delight by foodies.

After our meal, Leah, Dick and I had a swell time driving along in the Mobile Recording Studio as we discussed the meal, the concept of Ramadan, fasting of various kinds, and the difference between couscous, Raisin Bran and Grape-Nuts -- the latter affectionately referred to by some as "butt bombs."

Also note that as we're driving through Uptown (one of those Chicago neighborhoods struggling to go from dicey to pricey), some drunk bangs on the window. And this is just in Part 1. Posting tomorrow: Part 2!

Cassette image generated at Says-It.com. (Thanks to Marco for the link!)

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Nighttime photo of the entrance to Steitz's Resort main building as seen from the parking lot.

I've always enjoyed summer places and seasonal haunts. Growing up west of Denver, some of my favorite childhood memories are of when Dad would take us to Winter Park on the Rio Grande's Yampa Valley Mail. Or when we briefly lived in Alaska and went swimming at Goose Lake Park -- a lake near Anchorage that was filled with floatplanes (good) and leeches (bad).

That's why I looked forward to visiting Steitz's Resort in Antioch, Illinois, about 60 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. And Steitz's didn't disappoint.

I shaved a few of those miles off by taking the Metra train from Jefferson Park out to Arlington Heights, where Dick picked me up in a Dodge Durango, which, he had warned me, he only rented when the minivan broke down earlier in the day. Not quite my friend ______'s vintage Ramcharger I enjoyed on four-wheeling weekends in Wyoming, but we did feel in command of the highway -- at least until a Hummer got in our way.

All in all, it was a great time -- and it would be fun to go back in winter when Steitz's Resort sets up a toboggan run. In the meantime, here are some links to additional information about fishing lodges in the area:

Chain-O-Lakes Online
Fishing Lodges Network
World Wide Fishing
The Sportsman's Web
The Outpost Mall
Fishinglodges.com
Wisconsin Fishing Resorts



Google Earth satellite view of Steitz's Resort.

Photos by Leigh Hanlon (top), Steitz's Resort (middle; inset) and Google Earth (bottom).

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Well, it's back to another sushi place, this time out in Buffalo Grove. The restaurant is Sushi Kamon, 129 North Arlington Heights Road in Chase Plaza shopping center.

By the way, another business that has one of its stores in Chase Plaza, Betty Schwartz's Intimate Boutique, came up in a previous ChicagoScope podcast when we talked about how, with the disappearance of local department stores like Annes of Jefferson Park, Betty's is one of the best places where a lady can be properly fitted for a bra. We also briefly discuss other interesting retailers like Transformations and Skyscraper Heels.

As for Sushi Kamon, I was impressed at how a lot of real-life Japanese businessmen were patronizing the place -- during our visit, a large table of folks were speaking Japanese and having a nice evening out. Me, I particularly enjoyed the miso soup, salad and beef teriyaki that I ordered. I didn't try much in the way of fish, but Leah and Dick had ordered a kind of sushi I'd never encountered before: sushi made with fruit, which gave it an almost dessertlike quality. Pretty neat stuff.

We all liked this place and would definitely go back.

(Images from Sushi Kamon website)

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(Photo of sushi courtesy Kite Mandarin & Sushi)

I have a love/hate relationship with sushi. I love the delicate and subtle artistry that goes into sushi. I hate the taste of fish. And that's all fish. It's not that I don't like sushi. It's just that I don't like fish. Fish is fish and fish tastes fishy.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of choking half to death while a tiny bone from a rainbow trout turned me several rainbow shades of red, then blue, then white. That pretty much put me off fish -- including salmon, tuna, red snapper, shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster, calamari, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and even fish sticks.

Oh, there have been a few occasions when I felt obliged to eat fish. Like in Casper when I ate over at my friend ______'s house and his mom made this huge batch of tuna salad. It was great salad, if you could tune out the tuna, which I just about managed to do.

Then there was the time in Key West that _____ convinced me that swordfish is the one fish that doesn't taste fishy. I was a in a pretty good mood, so I figured what the hey and ordered some. It cost a lot and I ate it all, but it tasted sort of like a good steak that had been gangbanged at the Shedd Aquarium.

So, it's safe to say that I don't like fish.

But that may be gradually changing, thanks to recent trips to sushi restaurants. Recently, I accompanied Donna and Brendan Shultz to Kite Mandarin & Sushi, 3341 N. Lincoln Ave. (By the way, this place isn't just about sushi -- cooked Japanese and Chinese dishes also are on the reasonably priced menu.)

I ordered some delicious vegetarian tempura. And enjoyed miso soup. As usual, I also pigged out on pickled ginger and ate some California roll.

And then...

Brendan persuaded me to try barbecued eel. I'd like to say it was one of those "Green Eggs and Ham" moments, but even though I loved the sauce, I wasn't keen on the eel.

I guess you have to like fish.

If you do like fish, especially sushi, then give Kite a try. Brendan loved it and has been there a couple of times. Donna liked it, too.

REVIEWS:
Centerstage Chicago
Metromix
Yelp

Come back soon for "Sushi, Part 2." I visit Sushi Kamon in Buffalo Grove, where I also love the sushi but not the fish -- and discover a kind of "dessert sushi."

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Contributing Editor Brendan Shultz takes time out from preparing himself for the start of high school in a couple of weeks to fill us in on "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." Brendan tells us what he thinks of the film, as well as the theater in which he viewed it.

By the way, I think this guy's a pirate in the making. At one point in his review, he boasts of having availed himself of an opportunity to "shove it to The Man."

Official Disney websites:
"Dead Man's Chest" motion picture.

"The Curse of the Black Pearl" motion picture.

Attraction at Disneyland.

Fan site Keep to the Code.

Other related websites:
A review of the Disneyland attraction by Theme Park Insider includes a paragraph about how political correctness has infected the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction in that the "pirates now chase women for food, instead of the original concept of chasing the women to 'pillage' them."

Wikipedia article about the durability of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

RingSurf's hub for "piracy on the high seas and sites with related pirate or nautical topics."

WebRing's hub for "pirates and buccaneers of all types".

Tinselman provides a fascinating view back to 1976 with an actual Standard Operating Procedure used in running the attraction at Disneyland. Pretty neat stuff.

You Tube has a nifty clip in which Johnny Depp tours the revamped "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction and meet his Audio-Animatronic double.

Top 10 Pickup Lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Great barbecue joint:
Fat Willy's Rib Shack, right across the street from the theater.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

The Windy City has been associated with cows for a long time. There's the now-discredited legend of Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the Great Fire of 1871, as well as the enormously successful "Cows on Parade" promotion a few years back.

Then there's the story of a guy who loved a cow just a little too much.

Pat Butler, a longtime Chicago journalist, visits ChicagoScope and talks about one of the strangest stories of his career, the saga of a guy who got caught having sex with a cow not once -- but twice.

And to think he manages to relate this tale without uttering a single word that would have made the Hays Office blush.

Well, mostly.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Wrigley Field scoreboard and outfield during Cubs-Diamondbacks doubleheader.

A couple of days ago, our department got the chance to go see a game at Wrigley Field -- so, off we went.

Although I've lived in Chicago long enough to lose whatever passes as a Colorado accent, I really haven't been to Wrigley Field all that much. In fact, the first time I was there, the Cubs were playing Pittsburgh the day my dad died in a hospice overlooking Denver's Mile High Stadium. I ate two hot dogs that day.

My next Wrigley Field visit was two years ago about this time of year, when I got to see a game from one of the skyboxes. I kind of wish I hadn't. Sitting in luxury like that is similar to flying first class -- because the next time you get stuffed back in coach, you can't help but reach the inescapable conclusion that you're traveling well beneath your station in life.

But our seats were pretty good last week, maybe about five or six rows back from the Diamondbacks' bullpen -- certainly close enough to yell insults or encouragement to the visiting team. In our podcast, my colleague Matt Maldre admits that sometimes he enjoys heckling the players. But as often as not, I think he hollers out helpful information. In fact, during the second game of last week's doubleheader, I'll bet he yelled out more encouragement to Cubs than the first-base coach did.

What really impressed me about Matt, though, was his attention to scorecard detail. He doesn't just record runs, hits, errors, foul balls and such. Instead, Matt's scorecards are a complete record of what happened -- including the names of folks from work attending the game, a notation of when the sun came out and comprehensive listings of all the junk food that everybody ate.

Matt also noted the time when some apparently overenthusiastic fan ran onto the field. Cubs security quickly snared the guy and led him off the field and right past out seats. Here's a photo of the man:



DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Scorekeeping
If you'd like a refresher course in the basics of keeping statistics during a baseball game, Patrick McGovern serves up some great guidelines at The Baseball Scorecard. The site provides downloadable scorecard templates and also has a gallery of scorecards from amateur league games as well as the majors -- and includes a number of Cubs scorecards.

An overview of baseball scorekeeping and its history is on tap at the Wikipedia.

Dan's Guide to Baseball Scorekeeping not only teaches the fundamentals of scorekeeping, but discusses standard abbreviations and shorthand -- plus has links to applications that can automate the process.

Those wacky fans
Fan Reform

Podcasts, Blogs, etc.
The Heckler
Cubscast
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Len & Bob's Baseball Blog
Chicago Cubs Blogs
Cubbiepalooza

Below is Matt Maldre's scorecard for the second game. (You can see more of Matt's creativity at Spudart Productions.)



ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

This m4a version of "A Visit to Wrigley Field" incorporates supplemental images that will be displayed in the iTunes application.



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Fred Anderson in the new Velvet Lounge.

Chicago is a town of many traditions, and among its most important is jazz. In a special ChicagoScope interview, Contributing Editor Harold Devine talks with Fred Anderson, the internationally acclaimed tenor saxophone player who owns the Velvet Lounge.


The Velvet Lounge reopened Friday, July 28, 2006, in the South Loop's historic Motor Row district at 67 E. Cermak Road between Michigan and Wabash avenues. The famed jazz venue relocated from its previous home nearby at 2128-1/2 S. Indiana Ave.

The new club, located on Cermak, midway between McCormick Place to the east and Chinatown to the west, is featuring several inaugural sets in the coming weeks as a part of its "soft" opening. Also, special grand opening concerts are slated for the weekend of Aug. 11-13. Details will be posted on the Velvet Lounge Web site.

"I'm just trying to keep the music alive," said Anderson, 77. "It's amazing! We were only closed three months. I am glad we were able to do it. The musicians need it and the fans need it. We all want to keep this music going. Without everyone's support, we would not be here. We are proud to reopen the Velvet for the music."


Anderson has operated the Velvet Lounge as a training ground for many of Chicago's creative jazz musicians since 1982. It is one of the few clubs in the world that provides a venue for musicians to learn alongside seasoned professionals and to experiment with new sounds. The importance of the Velvet was acknowledged earlier this year by Joe Segal and Wayne Segal when they lent their Jazz Showcase stage to Anderson and a cadre of Velvet musicians on successive Mondays in January for successful fund-raiser concerts.

For more than a year, "friends, fans and Fred" worked nonstop to raise the funds and do the work necessary to build the new Velvet. The effort included several benefit concerts at which musicians performed for free, hundreds of private contributions and countless volunteer work hours. The Velvet also received assistance from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music, Architectural Artifacts, Asian Improv, Delmark Records, the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the Hideout, Hothouse, Jazzman Consulting, the Jazz Showcase, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rent Com Inc., Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drums, Thrilljockey Records, 3030/Elastic Arts Foundation and Uptown Snack Shop.

More than $100,000 was raised in private contributions to build out two new storefronts for the Velvet Lounge. In this larger, nonsmoking club, fans will find better amenities and a column free view of a larger stage. Improvements include a vintage Chicago art deco bar, booth and chair seating, a musicians' locker room and accessible restrooms. Fans will also find many treasured artifacts from the old Velvet, such as the trademark chandeliers, the Schlitz sconces and the Velvet lady painting. Plans call for the enigmatic Velvet wallpaper design to return soon as a window covering.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Hear Fred Anderson
Hear more Fred
New Fred Anderson Trio DVD

Fred Anderson outside the new Velvet Lounge.


ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Professor Pierce (shown here on the left) demonstrates how to play a theremin made by Theremaniacs of Milwaukee.

After several dark years, the Portage Theatre in my neighborhood now is presenting classic silent films with live music accompaniment, independent movies, ethnic cinema and stage shows.

This past Friday night, the Portage screened the 1924 Soviet production "Aelita, Queen of Mars" as part of The Silent Film Society of Chicago's "Silent Summer Film Festival." Jay Warren played the organ, Professor Pierce performed the theremin sequences.

For our podcast, the Professor was kind enough to talk about the theremin and put it through its paces. First up, he demonstrates the various sound effects and theremin tonalties that were such a hit with the audience last Friday. Then the Professor chats with us about the importance of the theremin -- and, most of all, how he learned to play one of these unusual instruments.

And for those who wish to squeeze just a little bit more from their theremin, might we suggest this not-safe-for-work technique?

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Last night, I accompanied Leah Zeldes and Dick Smith to the Chicago incarnation of Hamburger Mary's, a dee-luxe burger joint that grew famous in San Francisco and expanded nationwide -- at one point, I think there was even a Hamburger Mary's in Honolulu.

The Chicago franchise, which opened earlier this summer, is owned by twins Ashley and Brandon Wright. If you'd like to read along as we discuss what we ate, the Chicago restaurant posts its menu.

I was especially curious to experience the place, having eaten at the Hamburger Mary's in San Francisco some time ago. Our verdict: Great stuff with a couple of minor misfires, most notably the cherry pie dessert.

Read more about Hamburger Mary's at CenterstageChicago.com and metromix.com.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Travel to the Mideast is a dicey proposition at best right now. But it hasn't always been that way. My friends _____ and _____ visited Egypt a few years ago and had a great time. They learned enough Arabic to ask "Where is the restroom?" and "When does the next steamer depart for Luxor?"

And they even received a valuable social tip from a guy they met on the plane. "We have two types of women here," the helpful Egyptian explained. "Gazelles and water buffalos."

Ah, gazelles and water buffalos. Here in Chicagoland, last time I checked, we have cougars and porcupines.

Ouch!

I've always wanted to visit the Middle East and to photograph it with my vintage Stereo Realist -- preferably in Kodachrome before it's discontinued entirely. That region has, unfortunately, been in the news far too much lately. My friend Tom Lambros Bornstein (that's him at the right) is a partner in a company, AMI Travel, which leads tours to the Holy Land and the surrounding Mediterranean countries -- so, I sat down with him and asked him about the business, current events in the Middle East, and how he sees the near future unfolding.

Tom talks about the history of that part of the world, the types of tours AMI Travel leads, and we even discuss Dead Sea salt therapy for psoriasis and the Israeli citrus industry.

By the way, that fruit I asked Tom about is apparently called a citron -- aka an etrog.

Coming up next on ChicagoScope: I accompany Leah Zeldes and Dick Smith to the new Hamburger Mary's in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Above: Cowboy movie star Tom Mix stayed at a local hotel when making appearances at the Uptown Theatre.

On my first day of work at my first real newspaper job, the publisher gave me some advice that I've always taken to heart.

"Remember," he told me, "we are chroniclers of our times."

Those times occasionally turned out to be sensational murder trials and spectacular fires, but more often than not involved swimming meets, county fairs, zoning board meetings and the like.

Later, I learned to appreciate that whenever our newspaper would publish an article, a sports story, a photo or a calendar listing about a spaghetti-dinner fundraiser, we were actually communicating with people in the future.

That future usually was the next day or the next week -- but when I filled in for an editor during her vacation, I learned that readers could be in a different century.

My job that week was to search the newspaper's archives and assemble one of those "remember when" columns: what happened this week five, 10, 25 years ago -- and more, since this newspaper's history stretched clear back into the late 19th century.

I gained a new appreciation for the seemingly routine stories and ads published in our papers because viewed years up the line, everyday news opened windows to the past.

When I worked at Lerner Newspapers here in Chicago, colleague Jack Bess created a similar column for the News-Star and Booster weeklies. He called it "Turn Back the Clock" and it proved to be among our most popular features.

In this podcast, Jack talks about how he researched all those Chicago neighborhood yesterdays, and speculates about what future generations of readers might find fascinating about the news of today.

Below: The Alba "Go-Go" promised "a teenage nite club" that featured WLS radio disc jockey Ron Riley, as well as The Buckinghams. Note the dress code: "Dresses or skirts for girls -- sweater or sport coat & slacks for boys."



ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Above: After my first workout with Nike+ shoes.

Podcasters often are told we ought to take a cue from broadcast radio. In that spirit, I've decided to adopt a recurring element that's been a staple of your favorite AM station for many years:

LOSE WEIGHT WITH THE OVERWEIGHT ON-AIR PERSONALITY!

For my birthday last month, I received a pair of those new Nike+ shoes -- and after just one run, I'm amazed. Using an embedded sensor, the shoes and an iPod nano communicate using their own Wi-Fi network. The Nike+ shoes did a great job measuring my run and keeping track of my pace. Even better, you can buy music that's designed to "program" your workout. I couldn't find anything suitable by Dwight Yoakam, so I bought the album by The Crystal Method. This approach really works: I found myself pushing to keep pace with the varying beat of the cool electronic music.

I'll keep you posted. And I promise not to embrace that other radio staple, the live remote from the car dealership.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Contributing Editor Brendan Shultz visits the Davis Theater in Chicago's historic Lincoln Square neighborhood and takes in a showing of "Superman Returns." He gives us his opinion on everything -- ranging from the nachos at the concession stand (stale and uninspiring) to the film itself (fresh and exciting).

Then ChicagoScope highlights upcoming events, including an all-chimpanzee film exhibition and a demonstration of how striptease moves can help women bump and grind their way to fitness.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Contributing editor Brendan Shultz weighs in with his review of "Click," then helps ChicagoScope executive editor L.T. Hanlon figure out whether he acted appropriately when a dwarf or a midget (Hanlon can't figure out which) sat down next to him on a subway train.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.

Not too long ago, I joined Leah Zeldes and Dick Smith at Tagine, a new Chicago restaurant serving Moroccan cuisine. After the meal, Dick and Leah drove me over to Halsted Street so I could do some nightlife photography for metromix. On the way, we discussed the food -- and a variety of other subjects, too.

Reviews
Leah Zeldes
WBBM Radio's Sherman Kaplan
Centerstage Chicago
AOL CityGuide
metromix

BYOB
The wine we enjoyed was The Little Penguin.

For information about Morocco, courtesy of the CIA World Factbook, click here.

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"The Straight Dope" does its usual yeoman job of explaining things -- in this case the difference between boys and girls bicycles. And the folks at Urban Dictionary clear up why invoking a step-through bicycle frame is seldom a compliment.

But nobody seems to be able to tell me why I see so many middle-aged men pedaling girls bikes around the Northwest Side of Chicago without a hint of public shame or guilt. Maybe it's just me, but I'd walk a couple of miles out of my way to avoid being glimpsed astride a girls bike.

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I did this test podcast just to see -- and hear -- how the equipment is working. I'm reading a portion of the introduction to Frank Harris' "My Reminiscences as a Cowboy." This memoir was published in February 1930 by Charles Boni Paper Books. Literary lilliputian that I am, I only became aware of the works of Harris after seeing the 1958 movie "Cowboy," based on his book.

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I've had some difficulties getting an Edirol R-1 digital recorder to achieve sufficient gain to deal with voices.

I don't have the budget to buy a new top-of-the-line Marantz unit, so I've decided -- at least temporarily -- to fall back on a venerable Marantz PMD222 analog cassette recorder I've had for several years. I may also try recording some podcasts directly into my PowerBook. However, this means hauling a lot more equipment to remote interview sites, since in addition to the laptop, mic stand and microphone, I'm plugging in a Applied Research and Technology Tube MP. This is a nifty little preamp that uses the venerable 12AX7A vacuum tube. The sound recorded through a Shure SM58 dynamic mic sounds pretty good, at least to me.

People have warned me that it's going to lack the "snap" and "sharpness" of digital recorders. We'll see. Or, rather, we'll hear.

Special thanks for guiding me through this technological wilderness go out to Donna Papacosta, Michael Geoghegan, Scott Bourne and ________, my longtime technology consultant.

As for when my first podcast goes up, look for it the week of July 9. It probably won't be as polished as I'd like, but I hope to make up for that with sheer enthusiasm. After all, there's a point known to all journalists where you simply have to go with what you've got.

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