Chicago Sun-Times :: Today's Columists ::

Warm spirit of music cuts through shock of tragedy

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Shortly after sunrise one Tuesday last month, tragedy visited my backyard. A yelp and a crash broke the early-morning silence and led my husband to discover our upstairs neighbor unconscious in the garden.

Preparing for last days, Novak looks back

BY BARBARA MATUSOW — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Whether you like him or hate him, Robert Novak's combination of insider dope, political pronouncements, and glowering TV presence have made him a Washington institution. So the announcement in July that he was suspending his newspaper column because of a brain tumor came as a jolt. What other journalist has been tearing up the town with so much relish for the past 51 years?

Pritzker says no to commerce job

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

WASHINGTON -- Penny Pritzker, the Chicago billionaire who played a key role in President-elect Barack Obama's political career, said Thursday she does not want to be considered for commerce secretary, issuing a statement after her name had been mentioned for the Cabinet spot.

WLUP's Brandmeier lands TV gigs on WMAQ

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Lewis Lazare: Could WLUP-FM (97.9) morning drive host Jonathon Brandmeier become a fixture on late-night television? It's possible. Brandmeier will test the waters with a couple of (very) late-evening 30-minute "Almost Live" specials on NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5. One will air at 1:05 a.m. Dec. 5 and at 1:05 a.m. Dec. 12.

Viciedo -- the future or now?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:01 CST

Dayan Viciedo is expected to arrive in Chicago this morning, take a physical and sign on the dotted line.

Viciedo -- the future or now?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:01 CST

Dayan Viciedo is expected to arrive in Chicago this morning, take a physical and sign on the dotted line.

Will Rise Against be the next big Chicago band?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Jim DeRogatis: The Chicago quartet Rise Against doesn't fit neatly into any pigeonholes. As ultra-melodic hard-core punks with a serious political consciousness, the musicians never were part of this city's vibrant pop-punk scene or its venerated art-punk tradition, and some peg the group as the next local band destined for the multiplatinum success of Fall Out Boy.

Musical family secrets cultivate 'Grey Gardens'

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Hedy Weiss: It wasn't exactly a Camelot world for everyone in the Kennedy family orbit. Just consider the case of Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, the aunt and first cousin respectively of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and her sister, Lee Radziwill.

Circle Theatre's 'Blondes' will leave you breathless

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," the musical comedy set to a flapper era beat that is receiving a rare, breathlessly vivacious revival at Circle Theatre, is every bit the pure fluff that its title suggests. But sometimes (and right now might just be the ideal moment) fluff can be absolutely essential to maintaining sanity. So let's hear it for those energetic, social-climbing girls from Little Rock, Ark. -- Lorelei Lee, the gold-digging bottle-platinum, and her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, the brunet with a zesty appetite for life and men.

Madonna, Guy Ritchie finalizing divorce today

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Well, it's officially over. It was predicted Madonna and Guy Ritchie's divorce would be finalized before Christmas, but now it will beat a Thanksgiving deadline.

Good tale wags animated dog in Disney's 'Bolt'

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

Bill Zwecker: It's not among the most original Disney animated films, yet ''Bolt'' is one of those movies that in the end does what it's supposed to do. It's charming, nicely paced, often quite funny and features well-chosen voice talent. Most important, it provides a satisfying entertainment ''meal.''

They're in love, but her divorce is up in the air

BY ELLIE TESHER — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:00 CST

DEAR ELLIE: Her dating site profile said she was separated. She told me divorce was imminent. We developed a full-blown love affair. She has children from a previous marriage, as does her husband, plus one child together. He's still a big part of her life because of the child.