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illinois posts
Super Mario flashmob takes over the Chicago, Illinois, Magnificent Mile
Nov 10th, 2011 at 5:30PM: On Wednesday, more than 90 costumed Super Marios took over the streets of the Chicago, Illinois, Magnificent Mile. Around lunchtime, the flash mob broke out into dance in front of the John Hanock Center in an effort to promote Ninetendo's new video game, Super Mario 3D Land.
As you can see in the video, one man really enjoyed Nintendo's marketing efforts (although he had some trouble getting ...
Serial public art around the world
Oct 17th, 2011 at 4:30PM:
Public art exhibitions featuring a common sculpture that is multiplied and then embellished by various artists have been popping up in cities worldwide since 1998. Artistic director Walter Knapp first came up with the idea and convinced artists to dot Zurich, Switzerland with a collection of artfully-decorated lions. Within a year, Chicago businessman Peter Hanig had taken the idea and ran ...Chicago named most mustache-friendly city in America
Sep 29th, 2011 at 4:00PM: Chicago has recently been named the most "mustache-friendly" city in the United States by the American Mustache Institute (AMI). The research came in response to a "long-existing pattern of social and professional discrimination against Mustached Americans".
Apparently, Chicago is leading the way in providing an ideal living and working environment for Mustached Americans. In fact, Dr. Aaron ...Gawker's Worst 50 States
Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:30AM: I've been following Gawker's newest series, The Worst 50 States. I've been enjoying following this series. In an effort to pin down not only the best states in the US of A, but, more importantly, the worst states, Gawker compiled a Gawker-invented rating system in order to rank our fair fifty. Granted, this rating system consists solely of the viewpoints of those on staff for Gawker, so the ...America's 25 most expensive restaurants
Aug 11th, 2011 at 5:30PM:
What recession? Bundle just released a list of the 25 most expensive restaurants in America, and you'd never know the economy was still faltering. Your average diner would definitely require a stimulus package to pay the check.
Topping the list is The French Laundry, located in Yountville, in the Napa Valley. Chef/owner Thomas Keller's three-star Michelin restaurant is ranked among ...Summer travel: best U.S. cities for localized food lovers
Jul 14th, 2011 at 3:00PM: What's that you say? Summer's half over? Those of us living here in the Pacific Northwest had no idea, given the lack of sun in these parts. But even if you're getting slapped by the mother of all heat waves, it's still early in the season for the best produce summer has to offer. As for where to get great food featuring locally-sourced ingredients? Allow me.
Some cities are inextricably linked ...Twin United pilots throw opening pitches in Chicago's crosstown classic
Jun 25th, 2011 at 2:30PM:
The rivalry between the Cubs and the White Sox is no doubt one of the greatest in the sports community, each teams reflecting the vastly different attitudes and culture between the north and south sides of Chicago. Despite the tension, however, there's always room for some joviality, and this year, United jumped into the fray by bringing a pair of its identical twin pilots down to U.S. ...Making Cars in the Great Lakes: Inside Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant
Jun 7th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Before I left Chicago for points east, I had a chance to tour Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, a complex that finishes about 1160 vehicles a day. A great majority of those are Ford Explorers, pieced together by line workers wearing safety glasses and headphones, working pneumatic tools in a hypnotizing ballet of endless repetition. Whir, whir, whir.
Walking the floor, following pedestrian ...Hitting the Road in Chicago, a City of Reinvention
Jun 3rd, 2011 at 3:30PM:
If the story of this road trip is the reinvention of America, Chicago makes for a fitting starting point. Burned to the ground in the 19th century, its skyline now bristles with architectural gems, including some of the tallest buildings in the country.
And while the economy here has diversified over the years, heavy industry and manufacturing still exist, whether its on the industrial ...Best ice cream in America not just from a shop
May 30th, 2011 at 4:30PM: Since Memorial Day is past, I think it's safe to say we've officially entered ice cream season (National Ice Cream Day is July 17) Unless you live in Seattle, in which case, it's still winter, but never mind. We still have great ice cream.
What makes for acclaim-worthy ice cream? Food writers like me tend to look for an emphasis on local/seasonal ingredients, including dairy. I love high ...Memorial Day barbecue problems? Call the Weber Grill hot line
May 28th, 2011 at 4:10PM: This Memorial Day weekend, I'm honoring our fallen heroes by exalting the art of grilling. Being a good grill master is how the average American male proves his manhood (in public, that is). Never mind that plenty of women can and do wield the tongs in the family (I do); being unable to operate a barbecue and produce an edible--if not outright delicious--end result is about as emasculating as it ...Mobile farmers markets: the next "big thing" in food trucks?
Apr 25th, 2011 at 5:30PM: 2010 was the Year of the Food Truck, with cities from Seattle and San Francisco to D.C. taking it to the streets, literally. While street food and taco trucks have long been a part of U.S. culture in places like New York, Los Angeles, and Oakland, health regulations have historically made it considerably more difficult in other parts of the country. Eatocracy reports that Atlanta--despite its ...California's proposed shark fin ban stirs up debate over global politics of culinary delicacies
Apr 12th, 2011 at 3:30PM: As a former longtime resident of Berkeley, California, I'm no stranger to the concept of eating-as-political-act. Well, there's a new food ethics issue on the block, kids, and while it may smack of the current, all-too-pervasive epidemic of food elitism, it's really more about ecology, animal welfare, and the politics of eating--especially with regard to travelers, immigrants, and adventurous ...Chicago's JW Marriott opens its doors
Mar 22nd, 2011 at 2:00PM: The JW Marriott in downtown Chicago made it's official debut this month, the 50th JW to open among of a flurry of expansion in the luxury brand. With Gadling Labs just up the road in Chicago, the team stopped by for the opening gala to see what all of the buzz was about.
On the surface, Chicago's JW Marriott conforms well to the brand's standard -- that is to say, it is really nice. Despite a ...Top 10 travel spots in the United States
Jan 17th, 2011 at 1:30PM: So, Orbitz noted when we like to travel ... but where do we go? The top 10 destinations in the country were mostly predictable, with big tourist-magnet cities dominating the list. There were a few surprises, according to the information supplied by Orbitz: Boston, for example, didn't make the list, after having ranked ninth in 2009. Los Angeles, fifth in 2009, also fell off in 2010. New Orleans ...Hot coffee hijacks United Airlines plane?!
Jan 5th, 2011 at 3:30PM: Drinking and driving is a problem ... and drinking and flying is no different. A United Airlines pilot found this out the hard way: he spilled his coffee, which triggered a hijacking alert. So, United Flight 940, which was set to go from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany, had to dash across the border to Canada for an unscheduled stop.
A hijacking alert can have that effect, you know.
The plane ...Five ways holiday travelers annoy business travelers
Dec 24th, 2010 at 3:00PM: On December 23, 1999, I was trying to get from Madison, Wisconsin to Boston Massachusetts. On paper, it didn't look hard. I had to catch a short fight from Madison to Chicago and another flight from Chicago to Boston. Unsurprisingly, it was snowing in Madison. It was also snowing in Chicago. Flights were canceled quickly and routinely, and crowds backed up in the gate areas. I was starting to ...Five ways to join the mile-high club around the world
Dec 24th, 2010 at 8:30AM: Generally, it's best to avoid an airline lavatory for any reason. It's cramped, smelly and generally not a pleasant place to be. If you're planning to use the lav for something other than its stated purpose, you're going to need to brace yourself. Unfortunately, it really is the best environment on the plane for joining the mile-high club (for those of you not in the know, that means having sex on ...Chicago's best bar menus for holiday dining and drinking
Dec 17th, 2010 at 1:00PM: It's no secret that Chicago isn't lacking for great food or bars. But often, the two are mutually exclusive, no matter what city you're in. Fortunately, as I discovered on a recent visit, Chicago has a wonderfully eclectic mix of new and established hotspots that manage to combine the best of both worlds. Indulge in boutique bourbon, esoteric microbrews, South Australian Shiraz, or meticulously ...Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]
![Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2010/12/airportlounge_thumbnail.jpg)
Dec 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM: There are a whole lot more of us flying this year: 4.3 percent more, to be exact. That's the increase in domestic air traffic from September 2009 to September 2010, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In that month, U.S. airlines had 57.3 million passengers, leading to the largest year-over-year gain since September 2007. Meanwhile, international passenger ...
