the Fifth Line: Centrally Focused

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I’m going to lay it out there: I’m focusing on the Western Conference today, primarily on the Central division. It’s not because I’m biased, but… well, okay, I am a little biased. But that’s not why my focus is on the Central. Look at the standings.

See the Eastern Conference standings? Boring. Eight teams are very solidly in the playoff hunt; the other eight teams would need pucks made of four-leaf clovers to join them. The best chance for a surprise is if the Florida Panthers can make up seven points in the standings versus the Boston Bruins.

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In other words, Luongo would have to beat the Bruins for this to happen.

But the Western Conference is a series of rollercoasters when it comes to the standings — a veritable Wild West, if you will. And the Central division is the posse where all the gunslingers have a shot at the playoffs. Since this is a Chicago-centric publication, we naturally start with the men from the United Center.

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NCAA Hoops: How Good Is Kentucky?

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In one of the season’s more memorable games, Duke traveled to Virginia and took down the undefeated Cavaliers. The upset left Kentucky as the lone unbeaten team in Division I college basketball. The Wildcats have easily been the most widely-covered team and the national title favorite all season. At 22-0, 18 games stand between Big Blue Nation and the first perfect season since 1976, and it’s time to consider just how good Kentucky is — and if they’re truly that much better than the rest of the NCAA. [Read more…]

Made of Books: Finding Courage in Rilke

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Drawing of Rainer Maria Rilke

Made of Books is a monthly column (partly inspired by hero Roxane Gay) where Christina discusses writing that has been meaningful to her, in one way or another. 

I first read Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet at a time of transition. I had recently finished college and scraped together two part-time jobs to pay rent. Other kids had ambitions to go to grad school, or they were moving in with their partners, or getting jobs in their field. I had no field—only a undesirable history degree—and without school ahead of me anymore I felt myself floundering.

I wanted to make some kind of decision about my new adult life, to actively choose to do something to move forward instead of getting a job at a mall because I needed money and working with my friend would be fun. So I sought advice in book form. The page allows time and space to open up, and it was easier to feel vulnerable with a book because a book doesn’t know you, has no expectations for what you supposedly are, or for how you should be.

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Railroad Track Elevation in Chicago: A Modern Marvel

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“How few know even the names of the men who design and execute the work and in whose care the public safety is placed.  How vigilant and resourceful they must be is little appreciated by the passengers who are almost lifted as they ride.”

-M. K. Trumbull, Engineer of Track Elevation of the City of Chicago, 1908

1911 map of all track elevation projects

The 1890 census confirmed Chicago had become the second largest city in the United States. Driven by immigration, the population had more than doubled in 10 years. 41 percent of residents were born in foreign countries. The Civil War, ending 25 years before, vaulted the geographically northern Chicago past traditional rivals St. Louis and Cincinnati as the Western hub of rail transportation and manufacturing. By 1889, thousands of trains were entering and leaving the city every day. More than 2,000 miles of track ran directly through Chicago neighborhoods, all at ground level.

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Our Month in Pop Culture – February 2015

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We here at The Addison Recorder read stuff. We also watch stuff. And play stuff, even. Sometimes, that stuff is interesting. Sometimes we just need to talk about whatever pop culture ephemera occupies our time. Which brings us to this column.

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Super Bowl Pick ‘Em

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superbowl49I wrote a 500-word preview article that set up the Super Bowl. Then our website ate it and will not let me have it back. This sums up my relationship with American football this season. Fuck it. I don’t care enough to do all that again. My time will be better spent playing FIFA on the Xbox and anticipating Saturday’s showdown between Chelsea and Manchester City. So you get my bulleted thoughts and then we will hear from any other Recorder folks who want to weigh in. [Read more…]

Mr. Rostan at the Movies: “Red Desert” and the Formation of Self

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Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past.

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Right now, besides writing about movies for this site, I am working on my first screenplay since moving here from Los Angeles. It’s a script that I am immensely proud of but could never have imagined telling when I first set out on my path as a writer. Why that is, and why I write about the films I do on here, requires a small story.

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Remembering What’s Important in Life: Friends, Waffles, Parks and Recreation

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Parks and Recreation deserves a celebration. This heartfelt comedy about the Pawnee, Indiana, Parks Department delivered 22 minutes of pure joy in every single episode. I fell for Parks and Rec, fittingly enough, while pursuing my Masters degree in Public Affairs. The public service setting and political humor strike exactly my tone, but the genuine feeling of love and appreciation that every character has for one another makes this show universally appealing. This ensemble cast, led by Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, exhibits an on-screen chemistry that we will be lucky to ever see again. The show is not without tension, and it certainly isn’t without flaw, but it is undeniably fun, intelligent, and worth watching from the beginning. In an ideal world, my list would be a 138-page, tabbed binder with specific dates, jokes, and details from every episode. Practically, though, I narrowed down to five brilliant episodes. I don’t mean to argue or exclude with a “top five” list in this case. I mean this as a warm tribute to my all-time favorite show and as a jumping point for you to remember and talk about your favorite characters, moments, or episodes from Pawnee.

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the Fifth Line: Reading the Future

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There’s a sidewalk sandwich board that appeared out of nowhere near the D’Agostino’s on Addison. It offers up the services of the “Southport Psychic” for a low introductory price.

My initial thought was to wonder from whence this mysterious sign appeared. But then I thought, maybe I could use some of this psychic stuff to seem like a brilliant hockey prognosticator. Not that I want to pay anybody to say some words and make predictions for me. I could probably do this myself, right? Right.

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My first prediction is that Pierrre McGuire will know exactly where you played junior/college hockey — even if you’ve never played hockey.

I found a dusty old deck of tarot cards I didn’t know I had, so now I’m going to plumb its mystical depths to make insightful readings for each division. I can already envision my future as a highly-paid giver of predictions and hot takes… [Read more…]