Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
Photographer and London native Abigail Zoe Martin moved from Madrid to Chicago with her family about three years ago. A bit at loose ends as to what she should do, the portrait photographer decided to turn her camera toward the common and not so common …
If you’re ready to get into the Christmas spirit you can’t do much better than the American Blues Theater’s staged radio show version of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In this production, the theater is set up to give the illusion that you …
There is nothing more iconic than the Chicago elevated train commuter rail system.
Here is a video we found on youtube of that includes 8mm film and a slideshow from of the “L” in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Whether you consider this history or nostalgia, you’ll travel the Evanston Line and Skokie Swift along with scenes in the Loop, the dedication of the Kennedy Rapid Transit, the North-South Line, and other areas.
Take a look for familiar landmarks and see what has changed and what has not.
For many, the place they have lived and raised a family is more than an assembly of bricks it is a repository of memories and the physical manifestation of a life’s work. When it comes time to consider leaving it behind there are more considerations …
At its core, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard is a comedic drawing room mystery, but it is also a thought-provoking exploration of humanity through concepts of truth, chaos versus order, discovery and rediscovery, the meaning of time, and our desire to improve on an already …
More than a meal Chicago’s Golden Diners Program provides an opportunity for seniors (over age 60) throughout the city to interact with the community and enjoy time outside their home.
The program is funded by the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services.
There are about 70 locations covering virtually every neighborhood and providing an assortment of cuisines. If you check out the list you can find Indian/Pakistani, Chinese (in Chinatown), Polish at the Copernicus Center, Korean and Southeast Asian.
Recently the South-East Asia Center at 5120 N. Broadway had a pre-Thanksgiving Asian style luncheon for about 150 area seniors.
The seven turkeys (supplied by the center and donors) were kindly prepared by Sun-Wah BBQ. The now-famous restaurant was recently awarded a coveted James Beard Award for culinary excellence.
There was karaoke and live music performed by some of the seniors who are also regular diners.
Watch the video to experience a little of the festivities.
If you are over 60 years-old, check the list and explore one or more of the Golden Diners Programs in your area or explore the city. The meal is generally free or requires a small pay-as-you-can donation.
The South-East Asia Center is currently serving breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday.
(Story photos and video by Reno Lovison)
Manual Cinema’s homage to the 100th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s gothic classic “Frankenstein” is a singular theatrical experience that mixes live action, silhouettes, puppets, shadow puppetry, masks, video, slide projection and all manner of theatrical techniques, ancient and modern to create a captivating monochromatic video …
Headliner Erica Rhodes has appeared on Modern Family and Veep. She was making her way back to Los Angeles through Chicago after working the comedy club Penguin’s and a casino bar in Iowa over the weekend. The lithe thirty something wearing a corduroy jeans jacket …
It is the dawn of the civil rights movement, times are changing, President JFK has just been assassinated. Caroline is recently divorced, has three girls at home and a grown son in Vietnam. To make matters worse she is under employed and feeling like she has no skills that would allow her to change her circumstances.
Firebrand Theatre’s production of “Caroline, or Change” playing at the Den Theater (extended through November 11, 2018) in Chicago is an emotionally charged story about the power of money and fear of change.
Listen to our podcast review here. Just click on the play button below.
Podcast by Reno Lovison, Executive Producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and reviewer for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com (Photo by Marisa KM)
While investigating the net to see what is happening in Chicago this week I was nearly overwhelmed by the number of fan videos for BTS at the United Center. It seems the K-pop (Korean Pop Music) boy band from South Korea has been rocking the …
I thought it would be fun to feature beer reviewer Mark McDermott who I found while simply trolling the web for interesting Chicago related content. Though he does not review Chicago beers exclusively he is based in Chicago. To give this intro to Mark a …
I have two pet peeves when parking in Chicago. The first is the high cost, especially downtown, and the second is giving money to Chicago Parking Meters LLC which will probably go down in history as one of the worst business deals in history for the city.
Enter SpotHero! With SpotHero you can get discounted parking at probably the very same place you would have parked anyway but often at a fraction of the price.
As an example, I recently parked near Lake Street and Michigan Avenue for about $15.00 for three hours with the SpotHero App. If I had simply “found” that garage on my own and pulled in to park it would have cost in excess of $40.00. Nearly three times more than I paid. This is not an unusual example.
Understand that parking garages prey on visitors and the uninformed. Also, their posted prices are based on their peak prices. However, (not to get too technical) parking garages are in what we call a “lost asset business.” If they do not rent a given parking space at a given time they cannot recoup the value of that asset later. In short, they are in the business of “selling” a specific period in time. When that time passes their opportunity to make money passes.
So what that means to you and me is that when they have excess inventory they are willing to make a deal to sell it at a cheaper price. That’s where SpotHero steps in. They facilitate the discounted deal by putting those who need parking (you and me) together with those who have parking spaces.
Think about it like how the airlines operate. When they are anxious to sell a seat they will sell it at the best price possible because once the flight takes off they have no chance of getting money for that seat.
Add to the equation that selling parking is generally a very competitive business which is another reason that posted prices are so high. The operator knows most of the time they will not be full so they charge a premium to make up for their excess revenue.
Okay… I am a marketing guy so excuse the lesson in dynamic pricing. What you really want is a cheap parking space so, create an account and start saving money.
In the spirit of “full disclosure” as a SpotHero user, I am directing you to their “refer-a-friend” link that will provide an additional discount to you the first time you use the app and because I am making the referral I will get a $7 reward credit the first time you spend $8 or more. Not a bad deal for either of us. Once you are a user you can do the same. This is one of those services I freely recommend anyway, so whether I get a referral bounty or not I am still a fan.
Just to understand how it works the first thing you need to do is establish an account. After that, you can enter the address of your destination and the time period you need, then SpotHero will show you a map with a number of nearby parking options to choose from. Choose one, enter your credit card info and voila you have a reserved parking space. No driving around and wondering where you are going to park and how much it is going to cost. Also when it comes time to leave it is all paid for. You have the option of printing out a receipt or using the digital receipt using their smartphone app. Both options include a QR code (a kind of barcode) that you will scan at the entrance and exit to open the parking garage gate or door.
One more awesome advantage … it has been my experience that the two times I had minor issues I called SpotHero talked to an actual person who helped me immediately. In nearly every case they are better and more efficient than the parking garages themselves who usually have no attendants and virtually no customer service.
Besides my duties related to Chicago Broadcasting Network and my video production marketing company, I also write about 30-40 theater reviews a year for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com so I need parking every time I go out on a shoot, see a client or go to the theater. This becomes a significant business expense for me. SpotHero has saved me a bundle, saved me a lot of time, and has eliminated a component related to business that could be very stressful at times.
So do yourself a favor and sign up for SpotHero today.
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