Spring FashionSpecial Big Imagination Thirteen Chicagoans who make fashiona real art CHICAGO’S FREE WEEKLY | THIS ISSUE IN FOUR SECTIONS FRIDAY,MAY 12, 2006 |VOLUmE 35,NUmBER 33 HotTypeon StephenColbert p 4 The brains behind Baseball Prospectus p 12 Gardeningfor theyardless p 15 TimKinsellaon ScottWalker p 24 ArtSchoolConfidential,DeLillo at Steppenwolf, circuit-bender Nicolas Collins, hotbrunchspots,books on what’swrong with America, andmore Section One Letters 3 Reviews Music 24 Columns Scott Walker, The Drift Hot Type 4 Movies 28 How the MSM covered (or didn’t) Art School Confidential Stephen Colbert Theater 30 The Straight Dope 5 Don DeLillo’s Love-Lies-Bleeding at Steppenwolf Does oil really come from dinosaurs? Books 32 The Works 8 Billy Hazelnuts by Tony Millionaire; Hostile Takeover “Property tax relief” demystified by David Sirota, Confessions of a Former Dittohead by Jim Derych, and Lapdogs by Eric Boehlert Our Town 12 Plus Baseball Prospectus’s Christina Kahrl; What Are You Selling? 14 May 12, 2006 Garden in a City Bailiwick Repertory throws a rummage sale. Free Shit 16 Breakfast for mom Ink Well 35 This week’s crossword: “And . Cut” ON THE COVER: JIM NEWBERRY (HAT), MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (COLBERT), CHARLES STEC K (KAHRL), ROB WARNER (TULIP) Big Imagination Thirteen Chicagoans who make fashion a real art Dresses by Soo Choi By Liz Armstrong and Heather Kenny here’s the art of fashion, and then there’s fashion as art. In this issue we’re highlighting 13 Chicagoans T who think about the body less as a hanger than as a springboard for personal expression, resculpting or renovating the human form with garments and accessories that for the most part definitely can’t be worn with jeans. They include sculptors, painters, an architect, and a graphic designer and range in experience from student to professional. Their inspiration comes from all over the map—ichibana, civil unrest in Haiti, tripe, Victorian girlhood—but they don’t clobber you over the head with their big ideas. Instead they speak their intentions softly, Y encouraging viewers (and confident dressers) to decide on meaning for themselves. LA continued on page 20 JIM NEWBERR 2CHICAGO READER | MAY 12, 2006 | SECTION ONE CHICAGO READER | MAY 12, 2006 | SECTION ONE 3 m Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago, IL 60611 312-828-9926 MAY 5, 2006 f VOL 35 | NO 32 Letters @ [email protected] Publisher Michael Crystal Editor Alison True from previous weeks. But what Managing Editor Kiki Yablon always gets me is how much Senior Editors Michael Miner |Laura Molzahn | Kitry Krause The Real space is reserved for Chicago Doubt Club Associate Editors Martha Bayne | Anaheed Alani Philip Montoro | Kate Schmidt Antisocial bashing. It seems you Assistant Editors Jim Shapiro | Mark Athitakis | David Wilcox Plush Saga get more mail about poor Liz In “The Gospel According to Web Editor Whet Moser than you did when you pub- Kass” [Hot Type, April 21], Staff Writers Liz Armstrong | Martha Bayne Bob— lished the exposé on the Michael Miner lists as one of the Steve Bogira | John Conroy | Jeffrey Felshman Harold Henderson | Deanna Isaacs | J.R. Jones Hey, h’lo—hope you’re well. Scientologists, and these letters “Look at how details that make him a religious Ben Joravsky | Monica Kendrick | Peter Margasak Just a jot here to say get your are just as cultlike. many people doubter “the eternal damnation Tori Marlan | Bob Mehr | Jonathan Rosenbaum | Mike Sula myths straight, son! The Plush I’ll bet that a good majority are fascinated of Christ’s betrayer.” But there is Albert Williams Copy Chief Brian Nemtusak saga [The Meter, May 5] went of your readers, whether they by Studio 54, no Christian teaching that con- Editorial Assistants Pat Graham | Renaldo Migaldi like so: Russ quit before the Fed admit it or not, turn to or Haight- demns Judas to eternal damna- Mario Kladis | Michael Marsh | Tom Porter | Jerome Ludwig session, was replaced, and then Antisocial first or second thing Ashbury, or tion. Christianity teaches that it is Tamara Faulkner | Patrick Daily | Stephanie Manis Robert Cass | Kerry Reid | Todd Dills | Katherine Young replaced again before tape really after opening the paper. And even the Beat possible for any sinner to repent Ryan Hubbard | Miles Raymer | Tasneem Paghdiwala rolled. And I never quit at all—I why? Because it’s fun. The Generation. up to his last moment. It puts Typesetters Vera Videnovich | Kabir Hamid was replaced in the drum stool Reader covers politics, the All of these nobody in hell by name, not even Archivist Eben English when a different percussive style environment, the oppressed, scenes were Judas, and only one of three bib- was dictated to match the City Hall, sports. These are our made up of lical references to Judas’s death Advertising Director Don Humbertson arrangements prescribed by Tom vegetables. Antisocial is dessert, young people attributes it to suicide. Indeed the Sales Director Ginger Wade Tom Washington. I attended and that (I’m guessing) is prob- who were far Anchor Bible Dictionary suggests Display Advertising Manager Katie Falbo some mixes of the material after it ably the reason it was given too full of that Judas could have come Online Advertising Coordinator Renate Durnbaugh was all done too—not that they space, and that is the reason themselves, under the prayer of Jesus from Display Representatives Sandra Goplin | Christine Thiel Brad Winckler ever saw the light of day, but ... that it still exists. did far too the cross: “Father forgive them, Senior Account Executives Denice Barndt | Angie Boehler In the pastI’ve been called sev- I believe Antisocial is valu- many drugs, for they know not what they do.” Evangeline Miller | Geary Yonker eral delightfully ambiguous names able, not only because it pro- and spent a As for being a doubter, Mike Account Executives Nichole Flores | Jeff Martin in the pages of your paper, but vides entertainment, but also few years of Miner belongs to a distinguished Greg Saint-Victor | Tim Sullivan | Laura Swisher | Dan VanKirk Advertising Assistants T.J. Annerino | Kieran Kelley none so emphatic as “quitter.” If because it documents a specific their lives club. Graham Greene maintained Sarah Nishiura you want to hang that one on me group of people in a specific (sometimes that the only reason he remained you’re going to have to dig a little place. Fifteen years from now if much more) in the fold was that, despite seri- Art Director Sheila Sachs deeper—I have quit a thing or two people want to know what was finding new ous religious doubts, he always Associate Art Director Godfrey Carmona in my life, but not in this instance. going on in the Chicago party and interest- managed to doubt his own Art Coordinator Elizabeth Tamny Factitiously yours, scene, they have a valuable ing ways to doubts. Even the diaries of Production Manager Bob Cooper archive to turn to. Why would be seen and Mother Teresa reveal her own Rian Murphy Associate Production Manager Nickie Sage people want to do that, you heard.” serious religious doubts. Doubters Production Artists Jeff Marlin | Jennifer McLaughlin |Mark Blade Logan Square Benjamin Utley | John Cross | Andrea Bauer | Dustin Kimmel ask? I dunno, but look at how have their own prayer: “O Lord, I Josh Honn | Mike Browarski | Nadine Nakanishi many people are fascinated by believe; help thou my unbelief” Editorial Design Jardí + Utensil Studio 54, or Haight-Ashbury, (Mark 9, 24). They even have White Plight or even the Beat generation. All their own patron—the apostle Operations & Classifieds Director Mary Jo Madden of these scenes were made up of known as “doubting Thomas.” Controller Karl David Wilt Thank you, Liz Armstrong young people who were far too Finally, thanks, Mike, for Classifieds Manager Brett Murphy [Chicago Antisocial]! You don’t full of themselves, did far too quoting Saint Paul’s “We hope Classified Representatives Sara Bassick | Danette Chavez Bill Daniel | Kris Dodd | Chip Dudley | Janet Lukasiewicz get nearly enough credit from many drugs, and spent a few against hope” (Romans 4, 18), Jeff McMurray | Amy O’Connor | Scott Shehan | Kristal Snow readers for the great work you years of their lives (sometimes showing that, when necessary, Bob Tilendis | Stephen Walker do. Without your diligent efforts, much more) finding new even a doubter can borrow Matches Coordinator Jane Hanna how would we know what young and interesting ways to be seen from a believer. Back Page Representative Chris Auman white people with disposable and heard. Only later do these Operations Assistants Patrick O’Neil | Alicia Daniel Joe Wiley incomes and plenty of free time things garner any allure for Receptionists Monica Brown-Fielding | Dorie T. Greer Near North Robert Jacobs |Dave Thomas | Bob Tilendis are doing? This woefully neglect- those who weren’t there Bookkeeper Marqueal Jordan ed group would have to settle for and wished (often secretly) Circulation Manager Perry A. Kim the journalistic crumbs thrown that they were. Circulation Fred Adams | Sadar Bahar | Neil Bagwell at them by Red Eye or UR or We’re given an opportunity All-Pledge- Kriss Bataille | Mark Blade | Michael Boltz | Jeff Boyd Michael Bulington | Bill Daniel | Tom Frederick some other fluff publication that to follow the adventures of a Kennedy Greenrod | Nathan Greer | Scott Harris wouldn’t do them justice. So certain crowd, and we get to Drive Radio John Holland | Josh Hudson | Sasha Kadukov Thomas Kolinski | Dave Leoschke | James McArdle thanks again, Liz Armstrong and do so on a weekly basis, and Shane McDougall | John Merton | Dave Miedzianski the editors of the Chicago what’s more, the accounts are I suppose I should feel upset Terry Nelson | Gerald Perdue | Doug Scharin Phil Schuster | Dorian Tajbakhsh | David Thomas Reader, for your consistent cov- well written and usually pret- about the switch to an all-news Stephen Walker | Dan Worland erage in this area.