Plans For Muddy Waters Museum Thrown Into Jeopardy Over Chicago Home Deal

Muddy Waters fans who hope to see the legendary musician's Chicago home turned into a museum have a new reason to sing the blues.



A once-promising deal to sell Waters' former North Kenwood home to a buyer interested in turning the vacant building into a museum has gone bust, Chicago Real Estate Daily reports.



The two-unit home at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. where Waters lived with wife Geneva Morganfield was re-listed Monday for $100,000.








Waters' great-granddaughter, Chandra Cooper of Milwaukee, is the current owner, having acquired the home in 2002, according to Chicago Real Estate Daily.



The home was put on Landmarks Illinois' "10 Most Endangered Historic Places" of 2013 several months after it was threatened with demolition for being in a "dangerous" state of disrepair.



But Waters' home was safe, thanks in part to its location in the North Kenwood landmark district. As the Chicago Tribune notes, the landmarks commission would need to approve any demolition plan, something Waters fans indicated was unlikely.



"The city of Liverpool would recognize the historic, cultural and tourism value of John Lennon's house and never allow it to be torn down," Bruce Iglauer, president and founder of blues label Alligator Records, told the Tribune in 2013. "Muddy Waters was every bit as important to the blues and to Chicago as the Beatles were to rock 'n' roll and Liverpool."



Waters' house isn't the only artistic landmark to have faced bumps in the road on its way to restoration. Similar efforts were made to turn the former homes of poet Langston Hughes and jazz great John Coltrane into museums -- and similar financial difficulties plagued both. Hughes' East Harlem brownstone, though listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has ping-ponged through New York City's real estate market for years.



The saga of Coltrane's home, in Dix Hills, N.Y., even more closely mirrors that of Waters': The house faced demolition after years of neglect, although it was ultimately preserved after an outcry from fans, community members and notable artists like Carlos Santana.



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Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks Face Off In Outdoor Finale Of Stadium Series

CHICAGO (AP) — No introductions needed.



Not for the conditions, not even for two of the NHL's best teams facing off for the first time in two-plus years. Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins take on Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night at Soldier Field in the finale of the successful NHL Stadium Series.



The forecast calls for light snow and temperatures in the teens, but each team has some experience with the pratfalls of playing outside.



Chicago lost 6-4 to rival Detroit in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Crosby had the winning shootout goal when visiting Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 2-1 in the first Winter Classic in 2008, but the Penguins lost 3-1 to Washington when they hosted the 2011 game at Heinz Field.



Now the Blackhawks and Penguins return to the great outdoors for a possible Stanley Cup preview. Each team had a chance to practice on the ice at the home of the NFL's Chicago Bears on Friday.



"Very unique events being able to play outdoors," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said this week. "They're special and unique, at the same time you're playing a National Hockey League game and two points are on the line. You're playing against the defending Stanley Cup champions and a very good team in the Chicago Blackhawks.



"It will be unique getting out there, I'm looking forward to some cold weather, maybe some wind coming off the lake."



The prime-time showdown is the first meeting for two of the NHL's marquee franchises since Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory on Dec. 20, 2011. It's their first game in Chicago since Patrick Kane had the only shootout goal in the Blackhawks' 3-2 win on Feb. 20 of that year.



While scheduling and the league's most recent labor dispute have kept the teams apart, the players are plenty familiar with one another.



Team captains Crosby and Toews face off for the first time in an NHL regular-season game after leading Canada to the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics last weekend.



Crosby, Toews and Penguins forward Chris Kunitz scored in their country's 3-0 victory in the final against Sweden, which included Marcus Kruger, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks.



Penguins defensemen Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik played with Kane on Team USA, which was coached by Bylsma.



"They have that front-end talent, they have D that move the puck, they have good goaltenders," Kunitz said of the Blackhawks. "They've been a team to beat in the West for a long time. It's somebody we didn't get a chance to play last year that eventually won the Cup. We'd like to challenge ourselves and know what it takes to beat the champions. I think it will be entertaining and a fast-paced game."



The first NHL game at Soldier Field also features two teams in need of a win. The Penguins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to Montreal, while the Blackhawks lost 2-1 at the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Chicago, which almost tied the game against the Rangers in the final seconds, is playing its first game in the Windy City since Jan. 26.



"Everybody is excited for Saturday," center Peter Regin, who scored the only goal against New York, said Thursday night. "Obviously we were hoping to get a different outcome tonight, but we play in two days. That is the good thing about the NHL, you play every second night, so it's not so long before you can redeem yourself."



___



AP Sports Writer Ira Podell in New York and AP freelance writer Dan Scifo in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.



___



Jay Cohen can be reached at http://ift.tt/12XmZLL



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This Is Your State's Least Favorite Artists

Earlier this week, Paul Lamere of The Echo Nest released a map showing the most distinctive artist in each state, meaning the unique artist that each state listened to more than any other state. After many outlets declared this map to show each state's favorite artist, Lamere cleared the air by actually creating that map and explaining the difference between the two.



Now, using the app that Lamere built to examine the differences between states and regions, we have the least favorite bands in each state, courtesy of Randal Cooper.



Cooper put together three maps: the first limited to the top 50 artists on Spotify, the second limited to the top 100 and the third, top 200. Lamere also looked into the matter on his blog, Music Machinery, matching Cooper's top 50 map, and is the featured image of this post.



Check out Lamere and Cooper's maps below and share your thoughts in the comments. (Perhaps Maine should change their state motto to "%#!@ R. Kelly" in the near future.)



Top 50:





Top 100:





Top 200:







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Here's Why Those 'Marijuana Deaths' Don't Change The Debate On Weed

Recent news reports describe doctors blaming the deaths of three people in the past few years on marijuana, a drug renowned for its low toxicity and used regularly by millions of people around the world. Those doctors suggested that marijuana can kill in extremely rare circumstances.



The broader scientific community appears split on whether pointing the finger at pot made sense. But whatever led to those three tragic deaths, it doesn't change two important truths about marijuana.



First, for the vast majority of people, marijuana poses a minimal physiological risk, especially when compared to alcohol and cigarettes, which cause tens of thousands of cardiac deaths each year. According to a 2009 study published in American Scientist on the relative toxicity of recreational drugs, consuming 10 times the "effective" dose of alcohol is potentially fatal, while a user would need to ingest 1,000 times the effective dose of marijuana to risk of death.



Second, there has still never been a documented overdose death due to marijuana. Cannabis may have triggered an underlying heart problem in the three recent cases, but the amount of marijuana those individuals consumed was not the issue.



The initial report of a cannabis death came last month, when 31-year-old Gemma Moss was found by a U.K. medical examiner to have died from cardiac arrest triggered by cannabis. Moss, reportedly a regular marijuana user who had suffered from depression, had smoked only half a joint the night she died. Doctors could find no other cause for her death, so the coroner concluded it was "more likely than not that she died from the effects of cannabis."



Then this week, German researchers released a study arguing that the unexpected deaths of two men in their twenties had also been triggered by smoking weed. The researchers noted that one of the men had a serious undetected heart problem and the other had a history of drinking and using cocaine and other amphetamines.



Drug policy reformers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany have responded that blaming marijuana obscures the real medical problems these people had and worried that these cases are being used to make exaggerated claims about the perils of pot. Others, like British neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt, said that "people with vulnerable hearts should be informed of this risk." Still, even Nutt argued on his blog Drug Science that it would be an overreaction to paint marijuana as a killer drug based on cases like these:

Taking any amount of cannabis, like all drugs, like so many activities, puts some stresses on the body. Cannabis usually makes the heart work a little harder and subtly affects its rate and rhythm. Any minor stress on the body can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the butterfly’s wingbeat that triggers the storm. Ms. Moss had suffered with depression, which itself increases the risk of sudden cardiac death. It is quite plausible that the additional small stress caused by that cannabis joint triggered a one-in-a-million cardiac event, just as has been more frequently recorded from sport, sex, saunas and even straining on the toilet.

Other studies have shown that smoking pot can increase users' heart rates, decrease the blood's ability to carry oxygen and increase the risk of heart attack -- as can a variety of other day-to-day activities. As the National Institute for Drug Abuse points out, these risks may be heightened in people with existing cardiac conditions.



So these medical findings suggest a certain caution regarding marijuana use by people with serious heart conditions. But they don't do anything to trump decades of conclusive scientific research showing that marijuana doesn't pose a danger to millions of other individuals who use it. As the nation considers broader legalization of marijuana from a medical standpoint, it's important to weigh the real risks and rewards.



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Gov. Pat Quinn Plans for State Government 2.0

Illinois won't be your grandfather's state government.



Governor Pat Quinn's Administration is poised to launch a vast and expensive modernization of state government's financial wiring and work processes that will revolutionize operations and likely displace ossified workers, upend encrusted work habits, and mothball rusted file cabinets.



After being dinged by Auditor General Bill Holland a couple years ago for the state's failure to file

its required financial accounting records on time, delays which undermine bond house confidence and factor into bond ratings, Quinn's chief information officer, Sean Vinck put the bureaucratic pedal to metal in order heave Illinois into the 21st Century.



The Governor's Office of Management and Budget is wading through a mountain of complicated bids by IT vendors looking for one to manage a risky process to transform and standardize the human resources, financial accounting, and procurement processes across 79 agencies under the governor's control.



"This is Sean's baby," GOMBy spokesman Abdon Pallasch said.



Vinck's "baby" is ambitious, and it has lots of needs. Lots.



The RFP that has been out for bid since October 2013 for a Project Management Office - Vinck's secret weapon that will serve as the "risk mitigation structure" to oversee a lucrative RFP for a software and implantation vendor - included 3,519 business processes and software requirements that eventually will have to be whittled down to a more manageable 625.



Vinck says that other states have successfully implemented an across-the-board financial modernization of its financial accounting systems, but acknowledged that it's "risky, time consuming, and expensive". He said that's the reason for a project manager ¬- to squeeze out the risk to both the project and to taxpayers.



Specifically, the vendor who wins the PMO contract will be ineligible to bid on subsequent RFPs for the software or implementation contracts. The PMO will have no skin in that part of the game. Additionally, the PMO will be mandated to design the business strategy because Vinck says the project is more than just new software.



"We're looking to streamline business processes and implement new technology," said Vinck. "The purpose of the PMO is to put a risk mitigation structure in place."



Here's a layman's explanation of that bureaucratese:



"I think about it like a great Italian meal," Vinck offered. "You got to set the table first and get the kitchen organized."



A new financial system can boost Illinois' financial health.



"A new enterprise system can timely and accurately report data across state agencies," Vinck said, "And it can generate confidence with the bond ratings agencies" because of the timeliness and reliability of the financial data.



It could also save real cash.



Wisconsin, for example, under GOP Governor Scott Walker is also pursuing its own statewide IT upgrade. Walker's Administration expects to save $99 million over 10 years.



"Over a ten year period ... the State expects to spend $253,452,172 on implementing a new system and ongoing IT operating costs. In turn, the State will realize a total savings of $353,100,025 from the elimination of existing systems," according to a Wisconsin Department of Administration report, published on July 1, 2013.



The Illinois price tag and savings are likely much higher.



For that reason the potentially juicy project has drawn immense interest from top IT companies.



At the November 8 bidder conference, approximately 31 businesses were on hand to poke around for details on the state's project, including Deloitte & Touche, IBM, McKinsey & Co., Gartner, Grant Thornton, First Data, Senryo, etc. And bidders bombarded GOMBy with 55 questions that ran 13 pages.



The interest has been so intense that GOMBy felt compelled recently to issue a special procurement notice to bidders to tell them, essentially, "cool your jets, folks, we're working on it."



"This Notice is posted in response to multiple recent inquiries into the status of this procurement," according to the notice posted on February 11. "This remains an active procurement. A Notice of Intent to Award will be published to the Procurement Bulletin at the appropriate time."



Vinck says it is likely that the state will decide on its PMO RFP before the end of May.



"I hope it will be much sooner," Vinck said. "We're pretty close."



Once the PMO is selected, Vinck says an "ambitious time frame" exists to issue a RFP for the software and implementation for his "baby" - within 60 days.



Whoever is sworn in 2015 will be grateful for the effort to haul the state into the 21st Century, and the extra cash that it's slated to save.



But it is a risk - a big risk that Quinn or his successor will need to manage.



Stay tuned.



DavidOrmsby@DavidOrmsby.com



David also edits, with the help of Capitol Fax's Rich Miller, The Illinois Observer: The Insider, in which this article first appeared.



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Should Sierra Club Endorse Coal Rush/Fracking Gov. Quinn -- Or Call Out Environmental Disaster?

Is it enough for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and state treasurer candidate Mike Frerichs to hustle today to purge their campaigns of tainted coal industry contributions from a growing mine safety regulator scandal, or should citizens groups and environmentalists hold the Democratic candidates accountable for their full-throttle push behind the state's unprecedented coal mining rush and spiraling fracking debacle?



Questions abound in Illinois, where coal mining production and its toxic slurry fallout has skyrocketed by a mind-boggling 70 percent during the Quinn administration, as Gov. Quinn also touts a controversial and widely denounced fracking regulation law, opening the floodgates for oil and natural gas drilling in the state's beloved Shawnee forest region.



Earlier this week, in fact, despite a public promise by Quinn's deputy chief of staff that no fracking permits would be issued without strengthened fracking rules, Quinn apparently intervened to push through a second horizontal drilling permit for Denver-based Strata-X Energy.



Bottom line: Should the Sierra Club, and other environmental organizations, endorse the disastrous pro-coal and pro-fracking Quinn for governor, in default of the Republican candidate, or hold him accountable to the environmental group's principles?



"The Sierra Club should expect Quinn to stand by his green values in every part of Illinois," said Will Reynolds, the former chair of the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter and a key environmental blogger.



The Sierra Club recently endorsed Frerichs, despite his long-time support for "clean coal" boondoggles like FutureGen, Taylorville, and his leadership role in shaping a fracking regulatory bill, in his words, "so that we can start the process of bringing the hydraulic fracturing jobs to Illinois."



Quinn, of course, took large contributions from out-of-state coal companies, in his last campaign:









(from IL State Board of Elections)






While Quinn supporters often tout his administration's role in clean water initiatives and bringing clean energy and green jobs to the state (virtually all in Chicago and central-north Illinois), the governor's two-sided approach for downstate's reckless coal and fracking industries has been disastrous for the state and climate change concerns.



Last spring, Quinn famously triumphed the state's 5-fold increase in coal exports, on the same week climate scientists warned CO2 emissions had reached historic 400ppm levels.



Meanwhile, violation-ridden strip mining and longwall mining operations under the Quinn administration have continued unabated downstate, while high hazard coal slurry dams rise in central Illinois farm towns. Quinn even signed off on strip mining the Pyramid State Park.



Toxic coal ash piles under the Quinn administration continue to rank as some of the worst in the nation.



Quinn's appointed Illinois Pollution Control Board granted waivers last fall for five decrepit and pollution-spewing coal-fired plants.



Under Quinn, millions of state tax dollars also go to subsidies for out-of-state coal companies, like Peabody Energy, which posted $7 billion in revenues last year.



Even coal miners note that the Quinn administration remains in violation of state law for its lack of mine safety inspectors.



"Quinn has given out some clean energy nuggets to the Chicago area," Reynolds added, "but for downstate his administration is an environmental disaster. Instead of showing leadership on climate change, he's launching a two-pronged crisis of fracking and expanded coal mining. There's a long Illinois tradition of politicians pandering to environmentalists in Chicago while promoting coal and dirty energy farther south. Rod Blagojevich was the master of promoting clean energy laws while heavily subsidizing coal. That's not good enough anymore for the growing downstate environmental movement."



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GrubHub Orders Up An IPO

CHICAGO (AP) — Online delivery company GrubHub plans to raise up to $100 million through an initial public offering.

The startup was founded in 2004, making its name catering to college students and through its quirky social media activities. In August it completed a combination with rival Seamless for an undisclosed amount. Its other brands include MenuPages and Allmenus.

The Chicago company, formerly known as GrubHub Seamless Inc., connects more than 28,000 restaurants with diners in more than 600 U.S. cities. It had 3.4 million active diners at the end of the yearend. An active diner is considered a unique diner account that has placed an order in the last year.

Companies like GrubHub contract with restaurants, mostly in large metropolitan areas, and allow customers to shop online by food type, cuisine, or restaurant name to find what they want and have it delivered or prepared before pickup.

The service frees restaurants from some of the labor-intensive order taking and allows consumers to quickly shop, compare and pay without picking up a phone.

But there is intense competition in the marketplace, in part because restaurants don't have to commit to offering online ordering through just one company. Restaurants pay a percentage of each order to the online delivery service.

GrubHub processed more than 135,000 combined daily average orders in 2013.

The company did not disclose how many shares would be offered in the IPO or the projected price range in a regulatory filing Friday.

The shares are being offered by the company and selling stockholders. GrubHub won't receive any proceeds from shares sold by selling stockholders.

The company said that it plans to use the offering's proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes. It may also use part of the proceeds to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, services, technologies or other assets.

The company's 2013 revenue totaled $137.1 million, up 67 percent from the previous year's $82.3 million.

GrubHub's stock is expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the "GRUB" ticker symbol.

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University Changes Policies To Prevent Gay Couples From Getting Married On Campus Grounds

Rather than allow newly-legal same-sex marriages on its campus, Loyola University Chicago has formalized a policy so restrictive it excludes any gay couple -- and all but a few straight ones -- from having their wedding at school facilities.



Critics say Loyola's policy is a maneuver to deliberately exclude same-sex couples,

leaving some students and alumni outraged at the change, DNAinfo Chicago reports.



Ahead of the Illinois same-sex marriage law's June 1 effective date, the school adopted a new policy enacted just last December: Only Catholic-sanctioned weddings between a man and a woman (who must have ties to Loyola or at least be active members of a Catholic church) may get married at the school's Madonna della Strada Chapel. The policy forbids all other ceremonies -- religious or otherwise -- at campus facilities, including the popular Cuneo Mansion and Gardens in Vernon Hills. Receptions on campus facilities are still allowed.



Two Illinois counties (including Cook County, which encompasses Loyola) have begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as of Friday.



According to Windy City Times, the university previously operated under guidelines that welcomed only those ceremonies "legally recognized" in Illinois. Same-sex civil unions, though recognized by the state, Illinois, remained forbidden at Loyola venues.



Loyola spokeswoman Maeve Kiley told The Huffington Post via email the school will not be making a formal announcement on the policy (mentioned on university's information page about weddings).



Loyola's move on same-sex marriage comes several months after a student filed a petition urging the Jesuit Catholic university to allow weddings between same-sex couples on campus.



"It's really disheartening," Christine Irvine, the Loyola junior who started the petition, told the Windy City Times. "It's a sign of the non-acceptance and non-tolerance of the LGBT students on campus ... a sign of disrespect of our love compared to our peers."



Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of the LGBT Catholic organization DignityUSA, told The Huffington Post Loyola's policy is consistent with actions by other Catholic institutions in response to same-sex marriage legalization.



"As gay marriage comes to more and more places, the Catholic landscape gets more complex," Duddy-Burke said. "Bishops reach out to churches and give these kinds of orders: Priests are told not to do this, not to officiate and not even be present at same-sex weddings."



Under Illinois' same-sex marriage law, neither clergy nor churches can be compelled to officiate or hold ceremonies for gay couples.



Dudde-Burke noted that while institutions like Loyola may be stalwart in their stance against same-sex marriage, the majority of American Catholics don't share their views. According to a survey released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, 58 percent of American Catholics are in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples. The finding is in line with previous polling on the matter, which indicated a higher percentage of U.S. Catholics are in favor of same-sex marriage than the general public.



"In the future," Dudde-Burke said, "I think this is a place where the people of the church are going to have to be very clear on what we expect from our institution."



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9 Classic Movies That You'd Never Be Able To Explain To Kids Today

The sweeping technological advancements of the past decade have become instant staples in our day-to-day lives. We feel naked without our smartphones, anxious without our light-as-air laptops. And for kids who are growing up in this rapid-fire age of social media, it's difficult to fathom a pre-digital world. Which sadly means that many of your favorite classic movies just may not make a whole lot of sense to kids today:



1. "Psycho"



The Plot: In Alfred Hitchock's suspense classic, secretary Marion Crane embezzles money from her boyfriend and skips town. Desperate for a hide-out, she makes the truly unfortunate decision to stay in The Bates Motel, a spectacularly creepy joint with an even creepier proprietor.



What kids today just won't get:








Why wouldn't she just use Yelp to make sure she didn't pick a creepy motel with bedbugs?





2. "The Breakfast Club"



The Plot: We're total suckers for this John Hughes '80s classic in which five high school students from drastically disparate social circles, forced to spend a Saturday detention together, bond and discover they're not so different after all. (Aww.)



What kids today just won't get:







Why would five kids with nothing in except an inattentive detention monitor actually bother to look up from their smart phones for more than five minutes?





3. "Grease"



The Plot: This high school classic begins after good girl Sandy and bad boy Danny share a summer's worth of blissful nights. It turned colder (that's where it ended)... and then Sandy shows up at Danny's school in the fall, to both of their surprise. Who knew?!



What kids today just won't get:







There's just no way, in this day and age, that they wouldn't know they were going to the same high school. They'd either be texting obsessively into the early fall, exchanging mopey tweets or Facebook-stalking each other. Danny would know that Sandy moved and was about to enroll at Rydell High School.





4. "An Affair To Remember"



The Plot: Two illicit lovers, played by Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, are forced to part ways after a smoldering cruise ship affair. They agree to meet on the top of the Empire State Building after sixth months if they're still in love. As Grant's character waits on the skyscraper, Kerr's is struck by a car and whisked away to the hospital. She's too embarrassed about her injuries to contact him.



What kids today just won't get:







In this day and age, there's no way that a 6-month radio silence would be mutually obeyed in the first place, and that Grant wouldn't have known that Kerr was headed his way, only to be stopped by a speeding car. We suspect a few dramatic texts might have suggested that something was amiss.





5. "You Got Mail"



The Plot: "You Got Mail" came out in 1998 and the premise was reasonable given the technology of the time": Two bookstore owners fall in love through a lengthy anonymous email correspondence, blissfully unaware that they are actually business rivals.





What kids today just won't get:







In a post-"Catfish" world, it's unlikely that these two people would spend so long slaving over well-written emails without any photo or social media confirmation of their pen pal's identity. Some serious Facebook-stalking would be mandatory on both ends.





6. "Mrs. Doubtfire"



The Plot: In this not-so-typical '90s family film, Robin Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a voice actor who loses custody of his kids during early divorce proceedings. He dresses up as an elderly woman, "Euphegenia Doubtfire," and convinces his estranged wife to hire him to babysit the kiddies.



What kids today just won't get:







When's the last time any mother hired babysitters without Googling them first? You don't have to be in the FBI to perform a thorough background check, and we suspect dear "Euphegenia Doubtfire" would not have landed the babysitting gig.





7. "Home Alone"



The Plot: This movie might have been a bit of a stretch even at the time: Kevin McCallister's family accidentally abandons him at home as they frantically leave for the airport to go on their Christmas vacation. Armed only with booby traps and youthful guile, he is forced to contend with two robbers.



What kids today just won't get:








The film's '90s plot holes are today's black holes. There are a zillion ways Kevin's family could have communicated with him, from emailing him on the Internet-accommodated airplane to texting him before the flight took off to just calling a neighbor to supervise.





8. "The Blair Witch Project"



The Plot: Three film students disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Md., while filming a documentary about the legend of The Blair Witch. They venture into a supposedly "haunted" forest in search of supernatural evidence. They get lost, one of the students kicks their map into the river. Spookiness ensues.



What kids today just won't get:







If any of the students had a smartphone, they could have hauled their butts out of the forest before everything turned all demonic.





9. "Roman Holiday"



The Plot: Audrey Hepburn plays a princess fed up with the constant scrutiny that comes with royal life. She runs away in search of the freedom and anonymity, only to stumble upon a love interest who happens to be a reporter.



What kids today just won't get:







You don't have to be Kate Middleton to know that it's not so easy to keep a princess from being noticed, particularly if you've garnered international interest with an upcoming press conference. The paparazzi would have swarmed like vultures, and anybody with a smartphone and a Twitter account could have blown her cover.

_______________________________________________






While we certainly wouldn't want these classic films to change, it's entertaining to examine them as artful relics of how we once lived. These films show a quainter world, where disappearing from the face of the Earth or running away forever with a paramour is a cinematic possibility.



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Gary Sinise Remains Inspired By His 'Forrest Gump' Character, Brings Wounded Veterans Joy

It's a beautiful thing when actors are inspired by the roles they play.



It's been 19 years since "Forrest Gump" took home the Academy Award for best picture, but actor Gary Sinise remains influenced by his character, Lieutenant Dan Taylor, who loses both his legs in the Vietnam War during the film.



Sinise made an effort to get involved with the military community after his role in the 1994 film, according to U-T San Diego. He started the Gary Sinise Foundation to honor veterans, first responders and their families.



Earlier this month, Sinise teamed up with American Airlines and Disney in order to provide 50 wounded veterans with an all-expenses paid trip to Disneyland and the Paramount Pictures studio in California, according to ABC News. During the three-day trip, the vets saw a screening of "Forrest Gump," and had the chance to meet Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis.



"After the injuries and all that, it feels like you can't go out in the world anymore," Staff Sgt. Michael Irish, one of the servicemen on the trip, told ABC News. "All you want to do is be in a dark room and just sleep it off … and now with Gary and his organization helping us … to have fun and be yourself, that's very important to all of us."



Sinise became emotional during the one of the events, according to the Orange County Register.



"Getting out of the hospital is part of their recovery," he told the outlet. "Seeing them have a good time means a lot to me."

















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Everyone's Had It With This Winter And They're Heading 'Anywhere Warm' In Droves

CHICAGO (AP) — Shannon Frauenholtz has had it with winter. Barely able to stomach the television news with its images of snowbound cars, she heads to the tanning salon, closes her eyes and imagines she's back in Mexico, where she's already vacationed once this winter.



She's toyed with the idea of joining her mother in Hawaii or just driving to an indoor water park, figuring that while the palm trees might be plastic and the "beach" smells of chlorine, at least it's warm. "I don't need a vacation. I don't need the relaxation," said Frauenholtz, of New Ulm, Minn. "I just need the heat."



All over the Midwest and the East Coast, travel agents are being inundated with a simple request: Get me out of here. And travelers fortunate enough to have escaped are begging hotels to let them stay a little longer.



Because they know how miserable people are, warm-weather destinations in California, Arizona and Florida have stepped up their enticements. Trains and billboards in Chicago have been plastered with ads showing beaches and pool scenes. In Philadelphia, one promoter put fiberglass mannequins dressed in flip flops, tank tops and shorts atop taxis with their arms outstretched — a whimsical inducement to "fly" south.



Reminding Americans that there are places where nose hairs don't freeze is an annual tradition. But those in the business of luring visitors to warmer climates say it's rarely been easier than this season, when "polar vortex" has entered the everyday vocabulary and "Chi-beria" has become popular enough to emblazon on T-shirts.



"This year we wanted to have a little more fun with it," said Susannah Costello, of Visit Florida, the state's official marketing organization, which came up with the mannequin idea.



The ads showing children and bikini-clad women making snow angels in warm beach sand are more plentiful than in years past, acknowledged Erin Duggan, of Visit Sarasota County.



"We did that because we knew winter was shaping up to be brutal," she said.



Not that people needed much reminding of the harsh conditions.



"The winter is so bad, there is a certain amount of desperation," said Alex Kutin, an Indianapolis travel agent. "They come and say, 'I've got to get somewhere warm. Where do you recommend?'"



Kevin Tuttle, of Verona, Wis., was so intent on finding warmth that he decided against Florida out of fear that the polar vortex might reach down and find them there. Instead, he and his wife will take their 4-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to Manzanillo, Mexico, a resort on the Pacific ocean.



"That's near the equator, right? It's got to be pretty warm," Tuttle said, adding that "a lot of sand castles are in my future."



Just how many more people are trying to get out of the ice box is unclear. Airlines do not release any route-specific data. And although the government tracks some of it, figures will not be released for six months.



But other travel statistics suggest there has been a jump, including figures from Visit Florida that show hotel bookings in Florida rose 3 percent in the four weeks ending Feb. 15 compared with the same period last year.



The jetsetter.com travel site found that the number of hotel bookings in warm-weather spots made by customers from Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., area rose 7 percent in January compared with last year.



Travelers are also staying longer once they arrive.



Micah Hilgendorf said the thought of heading back to ice-covered Chicago, where he owns a couple of bars, prompted him to tack on three days in Florida before and after a cruise out of Miami. He also flew to Palm Springs, Calif., for four days.



"All of that is last-minute because of the weather," Hilgendorf said.



Dave Knieriemen, a retired engineer from Fremont, Ohio, is doing the same thing.



"We've reserved a room for another night in case our flight gets canceled because of the weather," he said this week from Arizona as he watched the Cleveland Indians play a spring training game. "And it's so horrible (in Ohio) we might stay a bit longer, anyway."



Travel agents say the numbers of travelers would be even higher if all those who wanted to get away could find a seat on jets that are already full.



"It's far easier to find people a resort to stay in or a cruise ship than to find them a flight," said Gail Weinholzer, of AAA in Minnesota.



The inability to find a flight, afford a trip or get time off from work has sent a surge of customers to businesses closer to home that can offer even a short escape from the cold, such as tanning salons.



"We're getting a lot of people coming in here to warm up," said Kirstin Leffew, the manager of Bronze Bay Tanning in Pendleton, Ind. "They want the beds that have been used the most, the ones that are nice and hot."



Indoor water parks say they are busier than usual, too. Joe Eck, general manager of the Wilderness Resort in the Wisconsin Dells, said business is up 10 to 15 percent because of the bitter cold.



Among those who decided to go to the Wilderness — which has real palm trees, the resort will remind you — were Jennifer Drost and her family.



"Our kids are young enough where they still enjoy playing outside, but they haven't been able to because it was so darn cold," said Drost, who lives with her husband and three children in Fond du Lac, Wis. "All of us were getting on each other's nerves, (and) we just needed to get out of the house."



___



Associated Press writer Michelle Johnson in Milwaukee contributed to this report.



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Drink Like A Famous Person By Channeling Leo DiCaprio's Bubbly Obsession

Happy Friday! Welcome to Drink Like A Famous Person, where we let you bring out your fabulous side in the name of some well-earned R&R. Eschew your regular habits this weekend by drinking like...



Leonardo DiCaprio!










In honor of the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday, we give you the drinking habits of this storied entertainer and Oscar nominee in the hope that 2014 is the year he finally wins. As Internet denizens are fond of remembering, Leo has won not a single one of these prestigious prizes in his 21-year film career -- although he's been nominated three other times.



So start rehearsing your toast, because Leonardo DiCaprio definitely has a thing for champagne.



Back in 2012, the actor reportedly spent $3 million on Armand de Brignac, the French vintner that hawks bottles for absurd sums, during his birthday celebration at The Darby in New York. A source told In Touch Weekly that the party "ordered 18 cases, then requested more bottles!" And no, it wasn't part of some pre-"Wall Street" method exercise -- all proceeds from the event went to victims of Hurricane Sandy.



If you'd rather save your $250,000 for a house or retirement or your children's college educations instead of a single bottle of champagne, though, the slideshow below has a few other options for you. Labels aside, we can all certainly learn a thing or two about raising a glass from Leo.



He's had a lot of practice in...



"The Great Gatsby"







"Titanic"







"Inception"







"Django Unchained"







And of course "The Wolf of Wall Street."







Cheers!







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Meet Marlin, The Shedd Aquarium's New Rescue Dog Ambassador (PHOTOS)

New Federal Court Filing Packs Explosive Allegations About Rauner's GTCR

In response to devastating television ads currently airing statewide exposing disturbing connections between Bruce Rauner's former private equity firm GTCR and nursing home neglect and abuse, the Rauner camp issued what it calls a "fact sheet." A "misrepresentation of the facts sheet" might be a more accurate term.



Rauner's so-called "fact sheet" includes this:

The Latest: In Jackson, after $110 million judgment was entered, Wilkes sued more than a dozen third parties, including certain GTCR entities, GECC, and others, to collect on that judgment. Earlier this month a federal judge granted GTCR's motion to dismiss the case.

The reference there is to the case of Juanita Amelia Jackson, whose estate won a $110 million default judgment for negligence, including $100 million in punitive damages, against the operators of the Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Florida. That facility was just one of many previously owned and operated by the GTCR-controlled Trans Healthcare, Inc. ("THI") and Trans Healthcare Management, Inc. ("THMI"). I cited that verdict in my original story, which broke the Rauner nursing home scandal five weeks ago.



I followed up with more on Juanita Jackson's case on January 23. The 76-year-old Ms. Jackson died in July 2003.



That state court judgment was issued in July of 2010. Nearly four years have now passed and the estate has yet to see a dime of the award the state court ruled it deserved. Recovery has been frustrated by complicated legal maneuverings, bankruptcy filings, and some very fishy (at best) shuffling of assets.



When Rauner says "a federal judge granted GTCR's motion to dismiss the case," he's only talking about a subsequent federal complaint filed by the estate in an effort to sort out what the estate essentially claims were fraudulent activities specifically designed to allow responsible parties to escape accountability for their negligent and unlawful acts.



Just one of the things Rauner's "fact sheet" neglected to mention is the fact the motion to dismiss was granted without prejudice and specifically allowed the plaintiffs leave to amend by February 14. Also, the court's dismissal was largely on technical jurisdictional grounds, and not on the merits. The court's Order of February 3, 2014 is here. The court is the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, and the case number is 8:13-cv-1133-T-33MAP.



The court subsequently granted an extension of time to file an amended complaint to Friday, February 21. The Estate of Juanita Amelia Jackson did in fact timely file an amended complaint with the U.S. District Court on yesterday's deadline.



The amended complaint names eight defendants - two of which are GTCR entities: GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC and GTCR Partners VI, L.P. Bruce Rauner is not personally named as a defendant and his name is not specifically mentioned anywhere in the amended complaint. However at the time of the events at issue, he was not only one of the small number of Principals of the firm (in other words one of the partners and owners), he was also GTCR's Chairman. Rauner was with GTCR for three decades. He left the firm in October 2012 in advance of his run for governor.



Here are just some excerpts from the amended complaint filed yesterday, with cites to the applicable paragraphs.

¶ 23. At all relevant times, GTCR provided equity funding to THI and maintained the controlling interest of THI (82.7%).







¶ 24. THI and its subsidiary THMI did not function or exist independent of GTCR. THI and THMI were the mere instruments and alter egos of GTCR. These entities shared a continuity of management, personnel and assets.



¶ 25. Through a Professional Services Agreement, GTCR operated and controlled THI and THMI by taking a hands-on-approach and day-to-day involvement in the operations of THI and THMI. The Professional Services Agreement provided for services including corporate strategy formulation, budgeting of corporate investments, acquisitions and divestures, and debt and equity financing.



¶ 26. At all relevant times, GTCR principals controlled the three-person board of directors of THI. The board of directors made all the material financial decisions and directed all business and strategy decisions of THI and THMI.



¶ 37. At the time the Jackson Estate filed its claim against THI and THMI, these combined, vertically integrated companies were the largest private nursing home management chain in America, with revenues of over a billion dollars.



¶ 38. During the course of litigation, THI and THMI, however, had been made judgment-proof via a multi-year national conspiracy to defraud the creditors of THI and THMI by stealing their assets, concealing them in newly created companies, and placing the remaining shell in a Maryland state court receivership to conceal the conspiracy and avoid any scrutiny by outsiders - including the Plaintiff.



¶ 42. Through their large investment, GTCR gained majority control over THI's board of directors and placed their principals, [Edgar D.] Jannotta and Ethan Budin, on the three-person board in order to actively manage THI and its subsidiaries. [Editor's Note: Edgar D. Jannotta, former Principal of GTCR, is one of the largest contributors to Rauner's campaign fund.]



¶ 58. By misrepresenting its earnings, THI obtained monies to which it was not lawfully entitled, including Medicare and Medicaid monies.



¶ 93. By the actions of Ventas, GECC, and GTCR, THI was unable to fulfill its operating obligations, resulting in lawsuits against various THI subsidiaries for failure to maintain its healthcare facilities, to maintain appropriate insurance, and to pay rent, as well as conversion, misappropriation of revenues, racketeering, and other fraud. See Aegis Services, Inc. v. Trans Healthcare, Inc., Case No.: 2:04-cv-01175-JLG-NMK in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio; Lyric Healthcare, LLC v. Trans Healthcare, Inc., Case No. C-05-013156, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland (owner of Florida facilities managed by THMI and THI alleging misappropriation of revenues).



¶ 319. Defendants, the Receiver, Tydings, GECC, GTCR, and Ventas have knowingly and willingly conspired to seize the assets of former nursing home operators, conceal them in newly created entities, and leave behind empty shells for the purpose of defrauding the creditors of THI and THMI, including the Plaintiff.



¶ 325. GTCR entered into a conspiracy to pay GECC and Ventas with fraudulently obtained funds and with funds intended to be spent on resident care, in order to protect GTCR, GECC and Ventas from the damaging financial consequences of exposure of THI's misconduct.

The 68-page Amended Complaint filed on February 21, 2014 can be read in its entirety HERE.



These are of course allegations, and all of the defendants will have their opportunity to respond with their own court filings very soon - although I certainly wouldn't expect that to happen before the March 18 Primary.



There is a lot of complexity here - complexity which GTCR and others have intentionally contributed. And this particular lawsuit is only one of the many moving parts in this nursing home story. There is for example also related litigation working its way through U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Florida right now.



But on March 18 Republicans will not be deciding a legal case. We'll be choosing our standard bearer and the person we as a party say is the best leader to oversee and run the government of America's fifth most populous state.



Republicans -- and no resident of Illinois for that matter -- can afford to wait for GTCR's lawyers to weigh in on these extremely serious matters.



Many questions remain unanswered. But I know one thing for certain. If Bruce Rauner was running with a "D" by his name, every Republican I know would be demanding answers and calling for the candidate to immediately come clean.



Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party.



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IFT Members Stand With Saucedo Test Boycotters

Facing the threat of discipline and termination, more than 40 teachers at Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy in Chicago have organized an act of civil disobedience against the standardized testing madness. On March 3, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will require students to take the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test (ISAT), an annual standardized test, which will be phased out next year. Teachers -- who are child advocates -- will boycott administering the test. They will not waste valuable class time on another test -- this one in particular carries no stakes and is not aligned to the curriculum.



These brave teachers are taking a stand for their students, and the Illinois Federation of Teachers stands with them.



Saucedo Teacher (and IFT member) Sarah Chambers:

We are not afraid. We're standing strong for our kids and what is right ... This is one step towards reclaiming humanity and the joy of learning and education.

Sarah Chambers addresses press conference at Saucedo Scholastic Academy (Photo by Greg Goodman)

CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett made clear in a letter to teachers that she takes "testing season" (her words) very seriously and that teachers should make it clear to parents that there will be no alternative instruction given to students whose parents have opted them out of the ISAT.

Byrd-Bennett continued her threats on Thursday stating that teachers boycotting the test could lose their certification.



This is outrageous.



We encourage parents to work with their teachers to opt out. We also strongly encourage CPS to reconsider their plans to punish teachers for doing the right thing. Hundreds of students from 25 Chicago schools have already opted-out.



Parents can opt their child out of taking the ISAT by simply informing their school's administration. A community group called "More Than a Score" is working to end the misuse of high-stakes standardized tests and have designed a toolkit for opting out students. The toolkit includes sample letters to school administrators, background information, and other tools for interested parents on their website.








Illinois Federation of Teachers Executive Vice President and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis issued this video statement in support of the Saucedo teachers




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Dear Winter, We're Through. Leave Now. Love, Everyone.

President's Manufacturing Institutes Are a Good Idea: Now Let's See About the Other 90 Percent

I'll start with a confession -- although not much of one. Like most people, I get my news in snippets, usually online from several different news sites, or occasionally from a hard copy newspaper or magazine. But, the other day, when I heard a portion of President Obama's speech this week announcing new manufacturing institutes in Chicago and Detroit, I found myself searching for the text of the entire speech -- a sound bite was not enough. What got me so intrigued that I felt I needed to go right to the source for more details? My interest is not political, but practical. As the president of a graduate school in large part devoted to bridging that gap between applied research and product, I have a special interest in seeing how this type of initiative works on a fairly large scale. From an educator's perspective, my experience is that on a small scale, a partnership which involves industry, educators and innovative thinking can lead to great things.



Our school, Keck Graduate Institute, offers a niche education to graduate students who want to work in the life sciences industry. When it was established in 1997, some were skeptical of its founding premise. Critics said it represented a next step, so to speak, in the "corporatization" of education, giving biotech and pharmaceutical companies too much input into how our students would be educated and with too great an emphasis on the potential profits behind scientific research. However, in the 90s and even in the 80s, there were signs we needed to start rethinking the pipeline that ran between practical education, academic research and industry. Too many scientific researchers were (and still are in some cases) frustrated at the amount of time it took for their work to get to those it had the potential to help. At the same time, students, even those fortunate enough to have the opportunity to pursue a graduate degree, often leave school without the professional connections and complex combination of technical, professional and communications skills it takes to get a good job in the field of their choice.



Fortunately, the increasing emphasis on translational (bench to bedside) research encouraged, in part, by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 has led to significant advances in the care patients are actually receiving. The United States today is unquestionably the world leader in medical innovation, having produced more new drugs, medical devices and diagnostic innovations over the last decade than any other country. Competition is fierce and getting fiercer and the landscape is constantly changing. There is still a lot of work to be done, particularly when it comes to equal access to quality health care.



However, over the last several decades, those of us in the life sciences have seen the successes that collaborations between universities, nonprofit organizations, industry and government can bring. The synergy that develops between these separate groups -- each with their own agendas but often with common goals -- can lead to truly innovative thinking, and the kind of widespread practical applications and societal benefits that most research scientists live for. For example, an interesting collaboration between our Institute and the Seattle-based biotech company, Alder Biopharmaceuticals, led to a new method of using a yeast, Pichia pastoris, to make fully functional whole antibodies more rapidly and cost-effectively than other technologies. The ability to make these antibodies has important applications in both pre-clinical and clinical stages of drug discovery, i.e., it helps researchers working to discover new drugs do their jobs better and faster. The discovery also helped Alder grow from from a startup company to one with more than $100 million of investment in their antibody development technology and portfolio of therapeutics.



This story, and similar ones from numerous research institutions and universities across the country, is why I'm encouraged by the President's initiative on manufacturing innovation institutes. I've seen the successes firsthand, measured not only in the number of new therapies and technologies coming into the marketplace, but also in the practical advantage that students gain when they are educated in an entrepreneurial environment -- one which helps them develop the professional skills, contacts and, above all, confidence needed to land and keep a good job these days.



Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the self-proclaimed "former chief evangelist" at Apple Guy Kawasaki once said, "A good idea is about ten percent and implementation and hard work, and luck is 90 percent." When it comes to the manufacturing initiative, I believe the good idea is there, and the ability of Americans to work hard has never been in doubt. So it all comes down to the implementation--and, of course, a little luck never hurts.



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'Sadistic Violence' At Cook County Jail Alleged In New Lawsuit, Sheriff Calls Claims 'Fictional'

CHICAGO (AP) — Guards at one of the nation's largest jails systematically engage in "sadistic violence and brutality" against inmates, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday.



But an official responsible for overseeing the Cook County Jail, Sheriff Tom Dart, told reporters the lawsuit was an exaggeration and, taken as a whole, was "a fictional account." Lawyers filed the 59-page suit in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of male inmates at the sprawling Chicago jail, which the filing says is overcrowded with 2,000 male inmates at any one time.



The lawsuit says officers sometimes threaten inmates with code words for beatings, asking if they want "an elevator ride," where cameras can't record attacks.



"The sadistic violence and brutality ... is not the work of a few rogue officers," the lawsuit alleges. "It is a systemic problem."



The lawsuit also says isolation cells are "unfit for human habitation" because they are "filthy, often streaked with feces and reeking of urine."



A U.S. Department of Justice case led to a 2010 consent decree in which Cook County pledged to provide safe living conditions for inmates and allow independent monitors to conduct reports of the jail twice a year.



"However, little has changed," the lawsuit says.



The suit, which includes accounts from around 100 inmates, was filed by the MacArthur Justice Center and the Uptown People's Law Center in Chicago. It names Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Dart, among others, as defendants.



Speaking at the jail later Thursday, Dart said he would fight the lawsuit.



"This thing is so outrageous on so many levels ... I don't know where to start," he said.



Dart has frequently raised the problem of overcrowding and a lack of mental health services at the facility. He told reporters Thursday that federal monitors have had "unfettered access" to the jail and to inmates for more than four years.



In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Preckwinkle echoed that. Kristen Mack said the twice-a-year Department of Justice reports "do not appear to support these allegations." But she added, "We take this complaint seriously and will examine it."



The suit asks for a court order halting the alleged abuses and seeks unspecified compensatory damages for at least some plaintiffs.



___



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If These Gorgeous Photos Don't Get You Excited For Spring, Nothing Will

Remember back earlier in the winter, when snow was charming? Yeah, no, neither do we.



We've got a bad case of missing spring. And the only cure, outside of actually going somewhere that's warm or something, is obsessing about our favorite springtime things, like:



Tulips!

Traditional Landscape by Salt Lake City Architects & Designers Laughlin Design Associates, Inc.

Cherry blossoms!

Traditional Landscape

Daffodils!

Traditional Landscape by Far Hills Landscape Contractors Statile & Todd

Wisteria!

Mediterranean Porch by Santa Barbara Landscape Architects & Designers Arcadia Studio

Crocuses!

Contemporary Landscape by Milwaukee Garden & Landscape Supplies Tulip World

Or a literal bed of flowers.

Eclectic Landscape by Atlanta Media & Bloggers Between Naps on the Porch

What about birds? Holy moly we miss birds.

Eclectic Landscape by Albuquerque Landscape Contractors Waterwise Landscapes Incorporated

We'll watch them from our patio.

Contemporary Patio by Mountain View Photographers mark pinkerton - vi360 photography

Perhaps while we dine al fresco.

Beach Style Deck by Jersey City Design-Build Firms Brunelleschi Construction

Followed by a long outdoor nap.

Contemporary Patio by Portland Landscape Contractors Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design

Taking breaks only to play with cute dogs.







Or goats, if that's more your speed.







Someday, we'll put away all of our winter clothes.

Contemporary Closet by Los Angeles Closet & Home Storage Designers Lisa Adams, LA Closet Design

We'll open all the windows.

Transitional Kitchen by Sydney Architects & Designers Angus Mackenzie Architect

Maybe pour a cocktail or two.

Traditional Patio by Langley Home Builders Clay Construction Inc.

And then start complaining about the heat.

Modern Pool by Austin Photographers Katie Shearer Photography

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Whoever Runs Taco Bell's Twitter Account Deserves A Raise

Taco Bell, which continues to extract product ideas through focus groups apparently comprised of starving potheads, has been killing it on Twitter for years. The fast food joint regularly tops lists of best brand accounts on social media and has more followers on Twitter alone than the state of Rhode Island has residents.



For good reason! Whichever public relations intern or team of meticulous, well-trained professionals is in charge of @TacoBell is doing a bang-up job with a clever combination of retweets, sassy comebacks, hashtags and whimsical life advice. We kind of, a little bit, maybe want Taco Bell to be our best friend. Here's why.





First off, Taco Bell supports our weird food cravings.

@angelporrino That's our girl.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) November 22, 2013

And has celebrity friends.

@DrakeBell Can't wait.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) June 23, 2013

But Taco Bell also has really great ideas.

Want to cuddle and eat Taco Bell?

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) February 12, 2014

And shares our love for "Mean Girls."

@aguywithnolife Is butter a carb?

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) June 14, 2013

@MeanGirlsQuotes God, Karen you're so stupid.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) July 12, 2012

It's not afraid to talk back.

@OldSpice Is your deodorant made with really old spices?

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) July 9, 2012

@MensHumor We're probably going to make a lot of money today anyway. #Ballin

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) April 20, 2012

Nor does it tolerate bigotry.

@dogboner We don’t tolerate harassment of ANY kind. Please contact us ASAP at media@tacobell.com

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) December 10, 2010

And it offers some sage advice.

Keep your friends close and your @TacoBell closer.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) November 21, 2013

@HiJessicaLu Never settle.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) February 25, 2014

Taco Bell sends gifts!

new shirt from the bae @TacoBell http://ift.tt/1evx8bj

— Elijah Daniel (@aguywithnolife) February 4, 2014

It's official, @TacoBell is my valentine. http://ift.tt/1evx7nJ

— Lee Newton (@leenewtonsays) February 14, 2014

@Illuminati_Stop We made this for you. http://ift.tt/1obcOgh

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) February 18, 2013

(Sometimes while feeding conspiracy theories.)





And it's very accommodating.

@SamPottorff That could be arranged.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) November 22, 2013

@lamenesss Roar.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) October 8, 2013

It really knows its priorities.

#LetsBeSerious Taco Bell is my favorite restaurant.

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) April 28, 2013

Dating is cool, but have you heard of @TacoBell?

— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) October 7, 2013

In short, Taco Bell is magic.











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WATCH: What Happened When A Kid Asked Her, 'Are You A Boy Or A Girl?'

In this incredibly moving talk, waitress-turned-equal-rights-advocate Ash Beckham shares a story about how a little girl's innocence stopped her in her tracks. See what this profound encounter reveals about finding the courage to be yourself and to say the things you never thought you could say.



Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TEDWeekends will highlight some of today's most intriguing ideas and allow them to develop in real time through your voice! Tweet #TEDWeekends to share your perspective or email tedweekends@huffingtonpost.com to learn about future weekend's ideas to contribute as a writer.





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Oscars To Stream Live Online For The First Time In Select Cities

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Academy Awards ceremony will stream live online for the first time to select cable providers in eight U.S. cities.



The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and ABC announced Thursday that Sunday's telecast will be available online and on mobile devices. A cable or satellite subscription login is required for the live stream at Oscar.com and ABC.com, or via the mobile app WatchABC.com. The live stream will be available in eight cities where ABC owns the local station: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Fresno, Calif. It's also available only to subscribers of select cable companies: Comcast, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber and AT&T U-verse.



The 86th annual Oscars will be broadcast live Sunday from Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre.



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This Is What Chicago Could Look Like In 2034

Daniel Burnham, Chicago's legendary city planner and architect of the 1893 World's Fair, famously advised:

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work."

Though Chicago has realized scores of innovative, imaginative ideas in the 120 years since the World's Fair, the current generation of big plans (some already underway) are poised to leave a dramatic imprint on "The City Of Progress."



Buckle in and get ready for a look at what the Windy City could look like in 2034 -- and beyond.



1. Navy Pier

A $150 million project to revamp one Chicago's top tourist attractions has been called "an opportunity for the city to reassess what the waterfront means to an urban center and the character of its identity."



Among the planned Navy Pier projects (with architects that include one of the designers of New York City's High Line): an expanded Chicago Children's museum, small "pocket" parks and most significantly, a new East End entertainment district with bars, restaurants, theaters and meeting spaces and an entirely new East End Park.



Navy Pier from the South Arcade

Before:





After:



Cyclists, pedestrians and skaters will also be able to use the new Navy Pier FlyOver, an active transit path meant to reduce bottlenecks and collisions between bikes and cars around Navy Pier.



(Here's a video of the complete design)



The greener, more modern Navy Pier will be integrated into a network that aims to more smartly connect the city's other waterfront attractions like Grant Park and Millennium Park in a "culture mile" all the way south toward the Museum Campus.



Navy Pier from the Upper Deck

Before:





After:





Status: Beginning phase started fall of 2013.

Funding: The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, private investments, DePaul University (arena).



2. The 606

Formerly known as The Bloomingdale Trail and re-christened as "The 606" (in a nod to the prefix of numbers shared by every Chicago ZIP code), this long-in-the-works project is expected to transform a former railway much like the High Line did in New York City.



The linear, elevated park runs along Bloomingdale Avenue from Ridgeway Avenue on the west to Ashland Avenue on the east and connects Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park. The first stage of the estimated $91 million project, which includes five neighborhood parks as entryways, is slated to open in late fall of 2014.



Before:



Steven Vance/Flickr



After:





Status: In progress.

Funding: Federal transportation funds, municipal park district funds, private donations.



3. Chicago Main Post Office ("Old Main")

The nine-story, federally landmarked building stretching across Congress Parkway is set to be the center of a multi-phase, $1.5 billion project that would add more than 2,000 residential units, shops, parking and potentially several new skyscrapers (at least one of which could give the Sears Willis Tower a run for its money).



Before:





After:





Status: Seeking investors.

Funding: Private.



4. The Chicago Riverwalk

This ambitious pet project of Mayor Rahm Emanuel along the main branch of the Chicago River will connect the Loop to the lake via a continuous walkway peppered with proposed amenities like cafes, a fishing pier, floating gardens and a swimming hole. The mayor also wants to add lots of lights in a tourism-boosting endeavor that has been called Emanuel's effort to turn the Riverwalk into "the next Times Square" or "Hong Kong lite."



Before:





After:





Status: Not yet started; anticipated groundbreaking in 2014.

Funding: Federal transportation loan.



5. The Chicago Spire

For more than five years, the $1 billion Chicago Spire has been nothing more than a hole in the ground. After plans for the ambitious supertall skyscraper were abandoned following financing problems, the Irish developer behind the project has reportedly landed funding and wants to re-start the effort.



The planned height of 2,000 feet (150 floors) would make the Santiago Calatrava-designed spire the third-tallest building in the world behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa and the newly-built Shanghai Tower in Shanghai. The spire would also help Chicago reclaim the title of tallest building in America, which it recently (and somewhat controversially) ceded to New York City's One World Trade Center.



Before:





After:





Status: Re-financing pending.

Funding: Private.



6. McCormick Place Expansion

McCormick Place is already North America's largest exhibition and meeting facility, but a massive project (planned in conjunction with the Navy Pier overhaul) is set to add a 10,000-seat events center, a boutique hotel, a 1,200-room Marriott hotel, a new CTA station on the Green Line at Cermak and a new basketball arena for DePaul University.



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Status: CTA Green Line station project already in-progress.

Funding: TIF dollars (city is also seeking private developers).



7. Lake Shore Drive

The north portion of Lake Shore Drive from Grand Avenue to Hollywood Avenue will see a massive rebuild that many active transit supporters hope will restore the drive (and the nearby Lake Front Trail) to its original boulevard-like state. In addition to better lighting and resurfacing, proposals including straightening the Oak Street S-curve, building more pathways from the city side to the lakeside, landscaping current vegetation and concrete and -- most controversially -- consolidating some North Lake Shore Drive interchanges like those near Montrose, Wilson and Lawrence.



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vxla/Flickr



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Status: Still in design phase, but could begin as early as 2018 or 2019, depending on funding.

Funding: State and local transportation funds.



8. Englewood Farms

The sprawling South Side neighborhood has struggled with years of high crime, low investment and massive population decline, but a new initiative could change the fate of Englewood and make it one of the largest agribusiness hubs in the nation. The plan calls for developing 13 square miles of area property. At its core would be an agriculturally focused two-mile development of abandoned rail line called the New ERA (Englewood Re-making America) Trail. The above-ground rail line would be a corridor for green businesses, decorated with public art and friendly to active transit like biking and walking.



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Eric Allix Rogers/Flickr



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Status: "Forthcoming," according to Peter Strazzabosco, Chicago's deputy commissioner of Department of Housing and Economic Development.

Funding: Public and private investment.



9. Bronzeville's Motor Row

With Bronzeville the heart of Chicago's black history, an ambitious effort to re-develop motor row into a more pedestrian-friendly entertainment district had Mayor Rahm Emanuel talking of marketing the neighborhood as the "New Harlem." The DePaul basketball arena from the larger McCormick Place expansion plan, which has drawn the ire of some Bronzeville neighbors, is maybe the quietest of the proposed options: Other ideas include a new concert venue and a '30s and '40s gangster-themed hotel.



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Sean_Marshall/Flickr



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