Our New Look! Same Great Taste! Now With Comments!

My fingers are bleeding from re-coding the template for this blog, but I'm happy with it. I've reinstated regular comments at Chicago News Bench. The new template loads faster and is less cluttered. Do you see what I do for you? I do and I do and I do for you kids. Now go clean your room.

Considering Blogs for Your Ad Campaign?

If you're thinking about including blogs in your advertising campaign, let me suggest BlogAds. I just started using them as a "publisher," and you can see my "adstrip" at the top of the first sidebar column to the right. How to get started? It's easy, really, for both the advertiser and the publisher/blog owner. The short video, below, shows you how to create, order, and manage ads "on 1,500 of America's best blogs." Whether your campaign is retail, political or other, BlogAds is a good addition to your overall strategy. See for yourself how easy and affordable it is to place an ad here, on Chicago News Bench. Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Visit us on Twitter!

Fake Comments on Broken Heart of Rogers Park

It has come to my attention that someone is impersonating me in the comments section of The Broken Heart of Rogers Park. The commenter uses the name "Tom Mannis," and has a Google profile of http://www.blogger.com/profile/07016535561772731112. The impersonator has the profile set so that its details cannot be viewed. That's typical for cowardly anonymous commenters. The impersonator has falsely used my name in comments in at least two posts on The Broken Heart: "Latest Information on the Morse Avenue Ambush Shooting" and "Officer Pulls Gun on Off-Leash Dog." As the owner of Gay Chicago Magazine, which he inherited from his late father, you would think Mr. Gernhardt would know more than the average six year old about libel and responsibility in publishing. You'd think. (I have cached both posts, of course, complete with comments.) While it is not surprising that someone would do such a childish thing, it is surprising that the blog's operator, Craig Gernhardt, allowed the posts to be published. Gernhardt is inconsistent with his comments moderation, sometimes having it on and sometimes having it off. Perhaps the fake "Tom Mannis" comments were made while moderation was off, which would indicate simply stupid irresponsibility on the part of Mr. Gernhardt. However, he also habitually checks the IP addresses of his commenters, and he knows my IP address. Additionally, Mr. Gernhardt avidly reads the comments on his own blog, as evidenced by his own comments to his own posts. He regularly comments on comments by others, then reacts to their reactions to his own reactions to them. Furthermore, he also knows that I would not have made comments such as the ones by the fake "Tom Mannis." Mr. Gerhardt is either showing a complete and reckless disregard for the nature and quality of the comments he allows (he's never been picky about quality), or he is knowingly allowing someone to impersonate me on his blog. In a comment on his post about the cop and the dog, for example, the impersonator wrote, "Someone Should shoot Craig." Although I might not object to somebody administering a swift kick to Gernhardt's groin with a steel-toed boot, I would not want him to be shot and I would not advocate it. Gernhardt knows me well enough to know that. Is Craig Gernhardt simply irresponsible and careless by allowing anonymous libel on his blog? This would not be the first time that he's done so. Or is Mr. Gernhardt knowingly allowing impersonation and, thereby, acting as an accessory to libel? How does that reflect on the rest of the commenters on The Broken Heart blog, not to mention the credibility of both the blog and Mr. Gernhardt himself? Stretch it just a bit further and one might reasonably ask this: If he is so frequently careless with libel and fact on his own blog, how responsible is he when it comes to his management of the same in his Gay Chicago Magazine? CommieBama Hats and More Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter

Sweet Reality Beat

"Sweet Reality Beat" is the name of a new addition to Chicago's dysfunctional family of bloggers. We wish her well, yes we do, and advise her to keep her head down and her powder dry. Welcome to the insane asylum, ChiChick. We've got yer back. Hat tip to Chicago Bungalow. Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Is Pulido's Campaign Secret? No, But Illinois Review Thinks So

UPDATED, 23 March: About Rosanna Pulido's Trouble Campaign Is Rosanna Pulido's campaign "secret?" Illinois Review thinks so. I love Illinois Review, but I must say that I personally know that they are quite mistaken. Pulido is the conservative Republican running against Stroger Democrat Mike Quigley in the April 7 special election for the Illinois 5th Congressional District. Editor Fran Eaton, whom I admire and consider a friend, wrote a confusing piece for IR on Sunday, March 15 in which she wrote the following. Sure beats us as to what point Rosanna Pulido's supporters are trying to make by keeping their efforts to win Rahm Emanuel's congressional seat a secret from like-minded and widely read conservative sources such as Illinois Review, but being open and giving interviews to national political sources such as RedState.org. What's up with that? First, it must be pointed out that RedState.org is not some insignificant website. Neither is Illinois Review, but the hard cold fact is that RedState is much bigger. Bigger, that is, in terms of reach, of links to the sites, of traffic in general. You can check this for yourself by comparing the websites marketleap.com and at Alexa.com, where you'll find that Redstate.com has a traffic rank of, 42,655, whereas Illinoisreview.typepad.com has a traffic rank of 425,669. (The lower the number the better for traffic ranking.) Fran Eaton's post continued: From RedState we learn that Tom Roeser hosted an exclusive secret meeting on winning back the seat April 7. We'll stand by and report from afar....as Pulido and Roeser obviously want it...Good luck with that, folks! Chicago News Bench was at Tom Roeser's meeting on Saturday, March 14. It was not "secret," as Fran Eaton charges, nor was it "exclusive." "Ordinary people" were in among the approximately 40 guests. To call it "exclusive" gives the wrong impression that only VIPs were. Hell, I was there, so how "exclusive" could it have been?!? Pulido did not control the invitations. It was Tom Roeser's party, so to speak. The entire purpose of the meeting was to discuss strategy for raising the public awareness of the Pulido campaign. The fact that Pulido's campaign made RedState aware of their meeting is due to several things: There was no attempt to keep the meeting "secret" or not even RedState would have been made aware of it, albeit after the fact; friend Warner Todd Huston, who wrote the piece for RedState, was at the meeting himself, so it's no mystery that RedState had the story before Illinois Review did; Fran Eaton either missed her invitation to attend the meeting or was not invited - in either case, you'd have to ask Tom Roeser about it, whose party is was and who controlled the invitations. Complaining about imagined conspiratorial motives by the Pulido campaign is pointless. Fran Eaton continued, "Secondhand, we'll report what RedState wrote..." whereupon she quoted from RedState's post. Wouldn't it have been more efficient to simply phone the Pulido campaign and request an interview? I think so. I would hate to see this turn into a website pissing war for territory by conservative websites. I don't think it will, since the much bigger RedState.com probably doesn't much care whether smaller competitors like Illinois Review tosses barbs at them without concern for any collateral damage it may do to the Pulido campaign. However, doing so would not serve the mutually held goal of putting a conservative into the seat of the Illinois 5th Congressional District. It would only harm a campaign that Illinois Review says it cares about. RELATED: Illinois Republicans Can’t Stop Eating Their Own (RedState) Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Local Coverage of 24th District Police Commander

On Monday night, March 9, still-new 24th District police commander David Sobcyk was "introduced" to residents of Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward on Monday night. Predictably, the mainstream media did not cover the event, so we turn to the local bloggers for reports. 24/7 North of Howard Watchers: Commander Sobczyk North Howard Neighors Association: Last Night's Meeting ChiTown Daily News: Sobczyk to tackle gang crime as new Rogers Park commander RELATED: Open Letter to 24th Dist Commander Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Full Texts of Blogger Subpoenas

These subpoenas were filed against Google in an effort gain information about two bloggers in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, as well as information about two neighborhood groups. Links to the subpoenas (PDF files): Wilson Yard Defendants Subpoena to Google (re: two blogs) (01-12-2009) Wilson Yard Defendants Subpoena to Buena Park Neighbors (01-12-2009) Wilson Yard Defendants Subpoena to Uptown Neighborhood Council (01-12-2009) The subpoenas were filed by developer Peter Holsten's attorney Thomas E. Johnson. Holsten is the developer behind a mixed-use project now under construction at the "Wilson Yard" location in Uptown, at Montrose and Broadway. RELATED: Holsten v. Uptown Update and What the Helen (Citizen Media Law Project) Developer Targets Bloggers in Chicago Marathon Pundit: Google subpoenaed about two anonymous Chicago blogs Uptown Update: "Holsten's Attorney Subpoenas Google" Open Letter to Uptown Update: Expose Yourselves Gapers Block: Uptown Throwdown WindyPundit: Google Subpoenaed Over Anonymous Blogs in Connection With Controversial Chicago TIF Project Chicagoist: Don't Shoot the Messenger: Uptown Bloggers Subpoenaed CMLP Blog: Chicago Developer Shovels Out Subpoenas by the Bucketful Over Wilson Yard Redevelopment CNB RSS Feed

Developer Targets Bloggers in Chicago

A developer in Chicago is using the legal system to go after at least two blogs based in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. There are several very disturbing aspects to this story, including the possible involvement of the son of Alderman Helen Shiller (46th Ward, Uptown), an attorney who shares an office suite with the developer's attorney. First, let's quickly review the basics as reported in the current issue of News-Star: The attorney representing Wilson Yard developer Peter Holsten in the lawsuit filed against him by Fix Wilson Yard has subpoenaed Google seeking information about two Uptown blogs. News-Star learned that the blogs in question are Uptown Update and What the Helen. Each blog was notified by e-mail that they had been subpoenaed as third parties through Google and that they have until Feb. 4 to file a motion to quash the subpoena. Both blogs are maintained anonymously and neither is affiliated with Fix Wilson Yard. In December, the Uptown community group Fix Wilson Yard, which claims to represent more than 2,000 Chicago residents, filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Holsten Real Estate Development. The attorney is Thomas E. Johnson. His law firm is Johnson, Jones, Snelling, Gilbert & Davis, P.C., located at 36 S. Wabash Avenue, Suite 1310, Chicago. Another law firm in the same suite is Shiller, Rossiter & Co., LLC. The "Shiller" in that second firm is Brendan Shiller. Brendan's mother is Ald. Helen Shiller, who has championed developer Holsten's project at Wilson Yard and has been the subject of much criticism by the blogs in question. Additionally, Tom Johnson has been a financial contributor to Ald. Shiller's campaigns. All this proves is that Brendan Shiller shares a suite with Johnson's firm. One must admit, however, that the coincidence is stunning, and it begs the question: How involved is the Shiller family in this legal pursuit of Uptown Update and What The Helen? The most disturbing aspect of this, of course, is the fact that a developer is trying to suppress the free speech activities of a respected blog, Uptown Update. "What The Helen," a blog whose name is derived from Helen Shiller, the target of their critiques, has been defunct for about a year, so to stay in the present, let's concentrate on Uptown Update. Uptown Update (UU) is enormously popular; it achieved one million hits last week. Like What The Helen (WTH), UU has been critical of Shiller and of the Wilson Yard TIF project at Montrose and N. Sheridan. UU, however, has been somewhat more subtle than was WTH. Additionally, UU reports on a broad range of news in the Uptown neighborhood. In essence, UU is a virtual neighborhood newspaper, providing some commentary and a lot of hard news reporting, with excellent graphics and community events listings. It is not unusual to hear an Uptown resident say, "I saw that on Uptown Update." For a developer's attorney to use subpoenaes to identify the operators of UU and WTH is disturbing. If this action by Holsten's attorney is being done as an attempt to silence Uptown Update and, thereby, the comments made by community members on that blog, then it is frightening. There can be only one or two reasons why this is being done. Those reasons may be: 1) To simply intimidate the bloggers, with the possible intention of scaring them into either shutting down their blogs or to delete past references to Holsten and not make future posts about him or his Wilson Yard project; 2) To discover the bloggers' names to subsequently bring legal action against them. That legal action would most likely be charges of defamation or interfering with commerce; There could be other reasons, of course, but the most obvious ones would seem to be an intention to either intimidate and/or to bring legal action against the individuals behind the blogs if their real names are discovered. It should be noted, for whatever it's worth, that Holsten Development Capital has channeled a lot of money over the years to a number of Democrats in Illinois, including Ald. Helen Shiller (at least $10,000 to Citizens for Shiller, 2000 through January, 2006). A small sampling of other beneficiaries of his largesse includes Citizens for Lisa Madigan (over $12,000), Citizens for David Orr ($8,000), Citizens for Joe Moore (over $16,000), Citizens for the 48th Ward Democratic Party (over $3,700), Citizens for Mary Ann Smith (over $17,000) [Smith is the 48th Ward Alderman], Citizens for Carol Ronen (over $4,000), Friends of Edward M Burke (over $10,000). (Source) It should be noted that I am not implying anything illegal about the contributions referred to above. MORE DISTURBING ASPECTS As mentioned above, Ald. Helen Shiller's son Brendan is an attorney who shares a suite with Holsten's attorney, Tom Johnson. Holsten and Ald. Shiller have both been targets of harsh criticism in the blogs. Both, therefore, have the motivation to squelch the blogs. Both Holsten and Shiller have the means, or ability, to bring the legal tools to bear in order to attempt that. Let me stress that this is theory on my part, but to say the least, it seems unlikely that the Shillers were not aware of the pending subpoena before it was filed. IS HOLSTEN BEING HONEST? Developer Holsten told News-Star that he had no knowledge of the legal action: Holsten said that he was not aware that Google had been subpoenaed by his defense attorney for information about the blogs. "I tend to stay off the blogs," Holsten said "They can get pretty nasty." This may or may not be true, but it seems difficult to believe. While he might actually "stay off the blogs," as he claims, it seems unlikely that his attorney Tom Johnson would not make him aware of anything about him on the blogs that could be deemed problematic. As for Holsten staying off the blogs, Holsten Management Corporation is one of the most frequent visitors to Uptown Update. Now, are we to believe that one of Holsten's secretaries is reading UU, and nobody else in that office, and that no notes are being taken by said hypothetical secretary? Furthermore, it is hard to swallow Holsten's implication that his attorney is lobbing subpoenaes on his behalf without his knowledge. Why would Johnson be seeking the identities of the bloggers? If not for client Holsten, then for whom or for what purpose? Curiosity? Suppose Holsten is being honest about this. Is Helen Shiller behind it? As mentioned, Holsten and Shiller are allies in the Wilson Yard battle. Shiller undoubtedly sees the whole controversy as a threat to her political career in the 46th Ward. I'm not saying Shiller is behind it, but the question must be asked. WHO ELSE WILL BE TARGETED? At this time, the targets of this subpoena is Uptown Update and the defunct What The Helen blogs. However, plenty of other blogs and web sites have been critical of both Holsten and Ald. Shiller, and still more have republished or linked to posts on those blogs. If Holsten and/or Shiller are truly on a witch hunt, they may leave no stake unburned in their attempt to shut down free speech in Chicago's 46th Ward. Worse still, other politicians will be watching this action. If Holsten and friends prevail, it could set a very chilling precedent for citizen journalists nationwide. RELATED: Open Letter to Uptown Update: Expose Yourselves News-Star: "Trial Date Set!" Shiller comes out fighting What is Wilson Yard? City makes change to spur financing for Wilson Yard Tax increase may blunt Uptown’s economic boom UNC ENews - The Truth About Wilson Yard - Uptown Neighborhood Council UNC e-News: The latest on Wilson Yard, Vote, October 28, 2008 Is Illinois the Most Corrupt State? - Capitol Briefing Feds Sued by Community Organizations and Publishers, Charge Computer Searches Illegal Electronic Frontier Foundation CNB RSS Feed

Tag the Blogger

I generally don't go for this kind of thing, but this tag-the-blogger one is too much fun to sit out. John Ruberry of Marathon Pundit tagged me with a meme, and I am now "required" to list six "inconsequential things" about me. That's one of the rules of this game. The rules: 1. Link to the person who tagged you (done, above) 2. Post the rules on your blog (you're reading them now) 3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself (see below) 4. Tag six random people with a link. It's difficult to pick only six "non-important things/habits/quirks," but here's a list off the top of my head: 1) Non-important thing: The little toes on my feet are hammer toes; they never touch the floor, so I leave four-toed footprints. Weird, I know, but not important. 2) Habit: I smoke. I know, I know, it's bad. But at least nicotine is a drug addiction that doesn't require me to buy my next hit from a recent parolee in a dark alley with money I've taken from an old lady's bloodied purse. 3) Quirk: I like to eat spaghetti with chop sticks. Hey, the Chinese invented that kind of noodle, so it's really not that weird. 4) Quirk: For some reason, I seem to be the person that strangers walk up to and ask for directions. It's weird. Often, I'll be on a crowded sidewalk or street corner, and people zero in on me to ask for directions, passing a dozen or more others to do so. I don't know why that is, but I am happy to talk to strangers (see # 6). 5) Quirk: I am politically conservative (on most but not all issues). While I don't consider that to be a quirk, most of my friends are liberal Democrats, and they consider it to be quirky. 6) Habit: I love talking to strangers on the street (see #4). I like people in general, and find that most folks are happy to have a conversation with a stranger. I've met many interesting people and almost always learn something new about human nature or a particular neighborhood. Some of those people have become friends. The links: A Million Monkeys Backyard Conservative Broken Heart Chicago Bungalow Chicago Shadows The Sixth Ward Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

Uptown Update's Million Hits

CONGRATULATIONS to our good friends at Uptown Update ("UU"), a hot blog in Chicago's "most Chicago" neighborhood. Any day now, their web site's hit counter will hit 1,000,000 (that's "one million" for those of you in Rogers Park, which a really, really big number). Why, it's like 9.5 years of an alderman's salary! Or, like a thousand times a thousand! Bigger still, one million is like having a hundred $10,000 bills in your wallet! Or better yet, like having one hundred million pennies in your pocket! How cool would that be? Uptown Update is a team of talented troublemakers who keep the folks of Uptown both informed and entertained. Like many of us north side bloggers, Uptown Update often breaks stories that the Big Local Media either miss or come into late. "UU" is a gem and a resource, with clever graphics and sharp reporting, and great links to community events. They aren't shy about voicing their opinion about local politics, either. UU staff identities are Ultra Top Super Secret! Like Batman, in a way. A team of Batmen, actually, but they don't have utility belts or conspiratorial butlers. I know their secret identities, but I am sworn to secrecy. If I ever ratted them out, they could easily gang up on me and beat me senseless. Or, at least, that's what they hinted would happen. I prefer to think they were joking about beating me senseless, but I prefer not to risk it. Now, mind you, when the Uptown Update counter strikes "1,000,000" it won't mean that a million people have visited the site. It means that their web site has been clicked that many times, but very often by repeat offenders. I mean, visitors. But that's still a very good thing. In the world of advertising, repeat visitors are desirable, whether to a newspaper or a web site. Did somebody say "advertising?" Note to Uptown Update: Why the heck haven't you guys monetized that beautiful web site? Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

John Kass' End Zone Victory Dance

Dammit, I love John Kass. Even when he pisses me off, which is rarely, I love him. He and the courageous management of the Chicago Tribune stood up against megalomaniacal Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich like nobody else has, not in the mainstream media, not even in the blogosphere. This is John Kass' finest hour - to date, at least - for he and his colleagues can honestly say that they did not buckle under the alleged pressure of Blagojevich to fire key editorial staff. Kass has a great piece - a rare extra edition piece yesterday that doubles as an end zone victory dance - in the Trib that you gotta read: As I write this, he's being brought before a U.S. magistrate for a bond hearing, and they'll sneak him out of the federal building through the tunnel so the TV people won't get their perp-walk video, but that's not the end of his troubles. The only real decision Gov. Dead Meat has to make is when he'll start blubbering into a federal tape recorder and how much he'll say. The guys behind the guys aren't amused. To them, this Blagojevich isn't funny anymore. Full Scathing Column... Do you think Kass came up in conversation when Rod got home this afternoon? "Hi Patti, I'm home! Say, whattaya think John Kass is gonna write about next?" (Makes The Bench proud to have been picked by the Trib as one of Chicago's best blogs!)

Stench Removed - Again! (Ha ha ha ha ha!)

"STENCHTOO" GETS "STRIKETWO" THANKS BLOGGER! Wanna go for three, Brettly? Oh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!! What was that, like a four day life span? Oh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!! Hey kids, see related: Internet Loses Its "Stench" Oh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!

The Bench on Rezkorama.com

Thanks to Rezkorama.com for linking to The Bench - three times today! Rezkorama.com is a good site to watch for the latest on Rezko, from both blogs and mainstream media. The items they linked to on The Bench: REZKOBAMADEN: You Call This CHANGE' BIDEN'S OWN REZKO: JOSEPH CARI, "THE FIXER" HOT: BIDEN'S REZKO TIES Looks like Tony Rezko is still growing as a hot topic nationwide.

MUST READ: WAR BLOGS IN GEORGIA

From the war zone of Georgia / South Ossetia, compelling posts from bloggers who are there, some hiding in their basements, machine guns on their laps. This special feature from Global Voices should not be missed. READ IT NOW... RELATED: Bloggers Chime In On Russian Attacks Wired.com: Georgian bloggers ward off Russian cyberattacks Russian Bloggers Are As Powerful As Russian Hackers Attacks on Georgia Web Sites May Not Be ‘Cyberwar’ (NewsFactor) Russian cyberwar! Yes, no, maybe so? Russian Cyberwar Against Georgia Coincides with Invasion

Blog Quickies

Quickie selections from some fave blogs: Is There A Connection To Gale Park Community Center? (North of Howard Watchers) What Is The Future For Gale Community Center? (North of Howard Watchers) Obama Machiavelli (Backyard Conservative) McCain's Flip-Flop on Drilling (Crazy Politico) A compelling argument for the 2nd Amendment (It's My Mind) Hey, that's a stereotype (A Million Monkeys) Wilson Yard: 20 Years In The Making (Uptown Update) More on the Obama public financing flip flop (Marathon Pundit)

Outside.in CEO Praises The Bench

Outside.in's CEO, Mark Josephson [wrote]: We are huge fans of the incredible group of individuals blogging about their local communities. The quantity and quality of these hyperlocal bloggers is exploding, and their ability to cover more news and information at the hyperlocal level far outweighs that of a hand-picked, full-time “traditional” editorial team. We are tracking more than 140 discrete hyperlocal content sources in Chicago alone, for example. (Great examples of hyperlocal news coverage are here and here.) READ FULL STORY at AVCBLOGS.COM... Thanks, Mark! ALSO: http://blog.outside.in/2008/06/04/hyperlocal-in-the-news/

REZKORAMA

Verrrrry cool site that tracks postings about all thingsRezko. http://www.rezkorama.com/

Clickety Clack Clack Clack

The fascination with Rogers Park bloggers is, well, fascinating. Since being designated as the "fifth bloggiest neighborhood" in the U.S. last summer, we RP bloggers have been besieged mostly by journalism students from Northwestern University (gad! leave us alone!), two or three Loyola University students, and a handful of professional reporters. The best report I've seen yet is by Steve Kent of the Loyola Phoenix, whose piece is in the current issue. An excerpt: The next time you're out and about in Rogers Park, listen carefully: clickety-clack-clack-clack. Hear that? OK, maybe not. But even if you can't actually hear the flurries of keystrokes, the bloggers of Rogers Park are all around you, and they're tapping away at keyboards in their homes, offices and coffee shops at a voracious rate that few other communities in America can match. FULL ARTICLE... A good piece of writing by Mr. Kent. (Any relation to Clark?)

14 and 6

Congrats to Uptown Update, good neighbor and friend just down the road a piece. You're number 14. Say, The Bench is on that list too! Welcome to the Top 20, kids. See: Uptown Update Named 14th Most Influential Political Blog In Illinois NOTE: "BlogNetNews' Blogosphere Influence Rating combines a variety of data sets to determine which blogs are most powerfully influencing the direction of the Illinois political blogosphere. The exact method BNN uses to calculate influence scores must remain proprietary in order to prevent attempts to game the system. BNN's methodology takes into account the fact that all Internet data is profoundly limited in its reliability by using multiple data sets that, when combined, reveal a fair picture of activity in the blogosphere." ~BlogNetNews

The Dining Diva

Had to share this with you... just came across a great little blog that reviews restaurants in Chicago. Called "312 Dining Diva," it's entertaining and informative. Check it out before you plan your next fine dining experience. Audarshia is the blogger, and she's sharp. Her credits include writing for the Chicago Tribune, Essence, UR Chicago, Chicago Preferred and Playboy.com.

Playboy? Say, Audarshia and I have something in common. I've been published in Playboy! Maybe one day I'll share that with you, dear reader (if I get my nerve up enough).