Events

Daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes, who either believed the world is flat or merely played the role of a Flat Earther, died Saturday trying to launch a home-made rocket in an effort to "prove" the belief: In December, buttressed by his conviction and advances in homemade rocketry, “Mad” Mike Hughes flipped on a camera and fantasized about the moment when he shows mankind that it lives on a verdant disk. The plan: Float dozens of miles high in a balloon, then fly a rocket to the Karman line, the 62-mile-high...

Welcome to stop #9 on the Brews and Choos project. Distillery: CH Distillery, 564 W. Randolph St., ChicagoTrain lines: All Ogilvie and Union Station lines. (Also CTA Green/Pink lines, Clinton)Time from Chicago: 0 minutes (Zone A)Distance from station: 200 m (400 m from CTA) CH Distillery (named after carbon and hydrogen, principal ingredients in alcohol) opened in 2013 with a mission to create "the only organic vodka made from Illinois grain and a variety of core and specialty spirits." They no longer...

Via reader ML, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have stepped in it over protests on First Nations land in northern British Columbia: Canadian federal police had “no legal authority” to make ID checks and searches on activists seeking to block a pipeline project on Indigenous territory, according to newly released correspondence from the force’s oversight body. The nine-page letter written by Michelaine Lahaie, chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, offers scathing...

Welcome to stop #8 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Sketchbook Brewing, 821 Chicago Ave., Evanston, Ill.Train line: Metra Union Pacific North, Evanston–Main St. (Also CTA Purple Line, Main)Time from Chicago (Ogilvie): 20 minutes, zone CDistance from station: 100 m (200 m from CTA) I love Sketchbook, and have loved it since it opened a few years ago. I've visited many times, often after getting some excellent Italian food at Campagnola next door. And long after the Brews and Choos project...

I was going to lead off with a New Republic article about Michael Bloomberg, but they just put up a paywall yesterday and lost my subscription information. And their new "subscribe now" page doesn't work. But why would anyone need to test software before deploying it to production? Anyway, that wasn't the only article that interested me today that I'll read later on: Philip Bump makes the case that the sacking of acting DNI Joseph Maguire confirms "a series of realities" about President Trump's...

Both New Republic and the Post come to the same conclusion on the latest from both the Republican and Democratic sides. First, TNR looks at the president's "clemency binge:" Those rewards send a powerful signal to Trump’s allies who are still caught up in the criminal justice system. There’s ample evidence that the president has dangled his clemency powers as a means to keep associates from testifying against him. Trump publicly floated the idea of pardoning Paul Manafort in 2018 while his former...

Welcome to stop #7 on the Brews and Choos project. The brewery closed permanently on 31 December 2022. Brewery: Smylie Bros. Brewing Co., 1615 Oak Ave., Evanston, Ill.Train line: Metra Union Pacific North, Evanston–Davis St. (Also CTA Purple Line, Davis)Time from Chicago (Ogilvie): 23 minutes, zone CDistance from station: 200 m (400 m from CTA) First, as much as I'd like to link to their website, it appears they've lost control of their domain name to a fraudulent, virus-infected host. Good luck with...

President Trump's list of felons to whom he granted clemency yesterday seems to have a common element. First, Rod Blagojevich, possibly the most corrupt governor Illinois has ever had, which is saying something in a state that sent 4 of its last 8 to prison, and who seems less than contrite about his crimes: “I had a unique opportunity to represent Congress and be (Illinois’) governor for six years and fight for things I truly believe is good for people,” he said, adding “the fight” now was against the...

The President was busy this morning: President Trump has commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, the Democrat who was convicted of trying to essentially sell President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat for personal gain, as well as the financier, Michael R. Milken and Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, the president announced on Tuesday. The president’s decision came the same day that he pardoned Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., a former...

Note: Kings & Convicts closed their Highwood taproom on 1 April 2024. Welcome to stop #6 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Kings & Convicts Brewing Co., 523 Banks Ln., Highwood, Ill.Train line: Metra Union Pacific North, Highwood station.Time from Chicago (Ogilvie): 52 minutes, zone EDistance from station: 300 m A Brit and an Aussie walked into a bar and decided to open a brewery. Then a couple of years later they acquired a distressed but well-respected brand, which they will soon add to their...