Oh the Bean. The Bean, the Bean, the Bean. The shiny metal fart bubble that is now a ubiquitous reference to Chicago. When did it replace the mighty Sears Tower, the glittering skyline, or ivy-covered Wrigley Field as a symbol of our fair city?

Hm? WHEN!? This is not...

It is a long-held belief that the dumb jocks and the smart nerds must occupy separate spheres, or the delicate balance of the universe will be thrown off. However, if employees want to reach their full potential, the smart nerds have something to learn from the dumb jocks. Study after...

Let's talk about gun laws. Let's talk about them now. Let's pass them. Let's find a way to honor our Second Amendment while still keeping our citizens safe. However, if we make gun laws the beginning and the end of the conversation, then we haven't even scratched the surface of...

Chicago, along with Atlanta and Detroit, houses the most prolific urban roller skate dance scene in the country. While this form of skating is largely influenced by hip-hop music and dance, Chicago's style of skating is known as "JB," named after the James Brown inspired beats that our homegrown DJ's...

Most of us are aware the Chicago teachers' strike was about far more than an annual salary increase. However, in the comments section of news reports ranging from The Huffington Post to Reuters, there is always some wiseacre who is focused on the $75k average that the cities' teachers make....

During the lead up to the 2008 election I was inspired by Barack Obama's call to service for all Americans. I've always been drawn to volunteer work, so his message reignited my passion, if ever so briefly. Like many people who volunteer, I struggle to commit. There are...

For the last two years, I have been the assistant coach of the women's Wildcats basketball team at Northwestern University in Qatar. The players are Arab, many are Muslim and most have never participated in organized sports.

But let's make no mistake. They may be girls. They may be...

My significant boo and I decided on a recent trip to France we would take a leisurely booze cruise through 100 miles Burgundy wine country by bike. After eight weeks of Sean T's Insanity workout program, I felt ready. After four days of prix fixe dinners in Paris,...

The prevailing notion in our culture is that death is the end of a relationship: We must mourn and then dutifully accept the loss by saying goodbye. The absurdity of saying goodbye simply because an earthly life ceases is rarely questioned. Until my father died, I had no idea how...

And by secret, I mean completely obvious. After all, I gave up padded bras long ago. Not only were they horribly uncomfortable, they felt like false advertising. There is nothing worse than getting frisky with a gentleman caller and having him discover that when your bra comes off, your memory...

1. Black, pollution filled boogers that start in Kathmandu will only increase with severity as you head towards Delhi. Bring an abundance of anti-bacterial wipes and shove those bad boys straight up your nostrils as needed.

2. As an American tourist traveling in a group of non-Americans, be prepared constantly...

For the past year I've been grappling with dreams I've watched die out like an insignificant ember in a campfire of despair. I fantasized of being a worldly professor, but not before I made my debut as a feature filmmaker, which naturally I would achieve by my 30th birthday. My...

If I learned one thing from my trip to Istanbul it was this: Avoid full meals. Amazing food is around every corner. So if you polish off a scrumptious grilled lamb kebab for lunch, when you pass a window filled with bright, glistening vegetables and savory meats you'll have instant...

When my boyfriend proposed I had a rogue thought that I never imagined could infiltrate my brain: I want to take his last name.

Ack! ACK! Who am I? Who am I, if not a feminist? Who am I, if not a Peterson? I wanted to jump in the shower...

For healthy teeth, skin and nails, try a steady diet of the salacious, tawdry and torrid. Ah delicious, nutritious celebrity gossip. High in Omega-3's celebrity gossip. Let us be clear, I don't need celebrities to gossip. I mastered the art of dish in elementary school, long before I cared who...

On the heels of reports that watching television or spending time on the computer can decrease your life expectancy, science has made a ground-breaking report that just one hour of reading can take as much as 59 minutes off of your life. Medical doctors at the...

The Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams recently wrote a compelling blog post regarding the Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anthony Weiner situation. The same situation, that in fact, many high profile men find themselves in. Adam's writes: "The way society is organized at the moment, we have no choice but...

The conversation is everywhere. It has been for a long time. However, with LeBron closing in on his first championship, it has reached a fever pitch. It's on Scotty Pippen's sacrilegious lips, its on You Tube fan videos, it's in the trailer for the new movieBad...

Watching the first game of the NBA playoffs was a magical start to the post season. Derrick Rose and his supporting cast made a jaw dropping turn around with only 48 seconds left in the game, and for anyone who saw it they know this is the reason we have...

The South Side of Chicago is one of the most absurdly neglected areas of the city. I like to say, "When the streetlights go out in Lincoln Park, they are fixed the next day, when they go out in Garfield Park, bring flashlights." People in power simply can't be bothered...