CHICAGO — It's Friday, it's sunny and it's 60+ degrees. If you're reading this, we hope you're reading it outside.
Party like a ‘Fugitive’: Revel in Saturday’s Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade right with Curbed Chicago’s handy map of Chicago locations filmed during “The Fugitive,” the 1993 Harrison Ford crime drama that airs seemingly weekly on cable television. In the film, Ford plays an on-the-run Chicago physician wrongly accused of murdering his wife in a conspiracy plotted by the pharmaceutical industry. Reporter David Matthews’s favorite settings? A Lincoln Park home, the old Cook County Hospital, and the Hilton Chicago.
Who are you calling the Second City?: Where President Barack Obama will live after he leaves the White House has been a topic of much discussion and speculation ever since he won a second term. But with the 2016 presidential primaries kicking into gear, the rumor-mongering is reaching new heights. Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times says the First Family wants to live in New York and has no plans to return to their Hyde Park mansion. Sneed’s unnamed source — natch — seems determined to twist the knife, suggesting Chicago isn’t sophisticated enough for the Obamas anymore. Mike Fourcher — of Aldertrack fame — doesn’t hold back. “If President Obama – the guy in Washington, not our brother and neighbor – chooses to go to New York City after his presidency, he will have perpetrated one of the greatest frauds in Chicago history. He will have ditched our loyalty. Made that whole 2008 victory speech in Grant Park seem like a lie. He wasn’t us. We were just a stepping stone.”
Fashion or Torture Device?: From corsets to push-up bras, bustles to girdles, the stuff you (usually) can’t see underneath women’s clothing is often what really makes the fashion statement — whether contorting a woman’s shape into a “wasp waist” or giving her a “shrimp tail.” Patty Wetli is both fascinated and horrified by the various contraptions designed to alter the female form, which will be on display at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City, April 3 - July 26 as part of the exhibit “Fashioning the Silhouette.” Guys aren’t immune to the pressure to look good — the show also features men’s calf enhancers, stomach belts and codpieces. If a trip to NYC isn’t in your near-future plans, a book including photos from the exhibit will be available for purchase through the Bard Graduate Center store April 3. Or just do your own research at Victoria’s Secret.
Catch This: One free agent who got away from the Cubs this winter was catcher Russell Martin, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays instead. Senior Editor (and former high school catcher) Andrew Herrmann recommends a profile of Martin in the March 16 Sports Illustrated not only for its interesting angle (a Canadian playing for Canada’s only team) but also its exploration of why backstops are gaining in value in MLB. “What makes a great catcher?” Albert Chen writes. “He is, over nine innings, at once analytical and improvisational, immovable and agile, calm and alert -- strategist, psychic, cheerleader, therapist, negotiator.” Being all that will get you $82 million over five years.
Dog in Pig’s Clothing: A Seattle Times article about a pig named Amy who is the smartest student in her dog-obedience class reminded reporter Kyla Gardner of Linus, Edgewater’s celebrity pig. Amy can fetch, but Linus can open the fridge. Watch both videos and decide: Who do you think is the smartest pig?
How the River Gets Green: Reporter Stephanie Lulay, who lives to celebrate her Irish heritage each March, is starting the weekend early by plotting out her St. Patrick’s Day stops Saturday.
The ceremonial dyeing of the Chicago River is sure to be her starting point. She’s checking out the Chicago Tribune’s map and neat series of infographics that explain what it takes for the waterway to adopt a green hue.
Did you know that flour sifters play a big part in the process? Pretty cool.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: