!" LIKE THE INTERNET, ONLY FLAMMABLE WEEK OF April 30, 2009 CHICAGO LOOP EDITION VOL 1 NO 13 PRINTED WITH EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM EACH CONTENT PROVIDER Michal Czerwonka | tpburl.com/n4k8x5 CHICAGO CHICAGO FIRM TO RELEASE WHO SHOULD BE ON BLAGO’S BARACK OBAMA COMICS ISLAND? By Bob McCarty Writes | 4/7/09 | hotoffthepress2 tpburl.com/kyv25x By Caroline Stanley | 4/15/09 | Flavorwire tpburl.com/byjsxt Officials at Devil’s Due, a Chicago comic books publisher, plan to offer “Obama comics When we awoke this morning to the juicy news that Rod Blagojevich made a deal to star with a twist” in the form of ruthless political satire from Larry Hama and an alternate reality in NBC’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here (pending court approval), our first reaction was to from Mark Powers. A company news release tells the stories: wring our hands and think “What a strange world it is we live in.” Then we made a mental note DRAFTED: 100 DAYS to DVR it once the summer hits. Then we thought how funny it would be if that guy who plays Devil’s Due’s original sci-fi hit returns with this double-sized one-shot featuring the him on SNL went on the show instead of him. And then finally we polled the Flavorpill office to president who could have been. Mark Powers offers a poignant look at a man the world never find out who else they hope ends up on the island/jungle/whathaveyou with Blago. Find Leah got to see achieve his true greatness when a race from beyond the stars drafted our planet into Taylor’s brilliant top five (which is even more impressive when you consider that it was written intergalactic war. See how he struggles, just as every other man, woman and child on Earth before she’d cracked the day’s first Diet Coke) after the jump. does in this truly inspiring story. As can be expected from Powers, there’s one other difference about our hero in this story in that due to an injury…he is MUTE. 1. Perez Hilton — with no Internet access or hair dye! What will happen? How long will he last? TO WHAT BARACK THE BARBARIAN: QUEST FOR THE TREASURE OF STIMULI LENGTHS WILL. HE. GO? Devil’s Due and Larry Hama (G.I. Joe, Wolverine) take political satire to a whole new level. 2. The trainers from The Biggest Loser — Yes, I do watch this show. And you know what? Jillian is a fuck- Hama, a surprise hire to some, but not to those who truly know his tastes, will take a look at ing bitch. And the guy is a weepy sack of shit. Without actual products to “place” (”OMG you guys! the current state of politics both past and present and isn’t afraid to point fun at Washington’s These Ziploc containers are SO CONVENIENT!”), I picture them resorting to “placing” random island sacred cows. items (”OMG, Perez! Check out these Coconut-brand coconuts! How great are these?”) for the sad In the distant future, the story of Barack Obama has become a little… distorted. According show going on in their heads. [Editor’s note: Jillian. I love you. Don’t listen to the mean blogger lady.] to THE MADDOWIAN CHRONICLES he was the one destined to save the great republic of America and dethrone the overpaid despots of the time. Join Barack, Sorceress Hilaria, her 3. Ann Coulter and Megan McCain — I don’t know, there’s just something delicious about those pos- demi-god trickster husband Biil, Overlord Boosh and Chainknee of the Elephant Kingdom. sibilities. The tree-falling-in-the-woods riddle comes to mind, but here it’s more like pundit-blabbing- Who can the lone barbarian trust, if anyone? on-an-island… Plus, I have a feeling they might actually kill each other? Ratings! If for no other reasons, I’ll have to purchase DRAFTED to see what a mute Barack Obama 4. Rachael Ray — Will she be rendered powerless sans her precious EVOO and her god damned de- Barack Uhhbama is like. signer puppy chow? God I hope so. 5. Russell Brand — He doesn’t deserve to be sent to the island with these fools, but I really just want to see him prance around in shorts, making naughty, catty remarks in that marvelous accent of his. THE LOOP Selfish, really. Oh well. Moto INSIDE THIS ISSUE: FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS Categories: American (New) GUY KAWASAKI ON HOW TO Location: 945 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 DEMO TWITTER tpburl.com/923176 Jules B. says, “An experience that you will never forget - promise! If you are seeking a cheese- burger well, this is not the place for you but if you are adventurous and curious - please try moto. BY STAN SCHROEDER I came with friends and we were blown away! We participated in the 10 course meal (which will GOOGLE SEARCH: WHEN YOU take 2-2.5 hours) the other choice is the 20 course meal (which will take 4-4.5 hours). Don't CAN’T FIND IT ON TWITTER worry, the 10 course allows you to have 3 dessert options! You have your choice of pairing up the wine or choosing from their amazing cocktails! Some of my favorites of the night were: the greek salad (ok, how do you drink a salad and still feel fulfilled? the house-made chile pequin quail and nitro liquip scallop were amazing! I would say that every course was beautiful in the presentation, the service was incredible and everyone was very helpful as I wasn't sure how to eat everything. YOU CAN BE INSIDE TOO! The restaurant will accommodate special dietary needs (non-dairy & vegetarian options) are available but notify them when you make your reservation.” SUBMIT YOUR BLOG AT THEPRINTEDBLOG.COM See all Chicago reviews at www.yelp.com/chicago VIEWS EXPRESSED IN CONTENT DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLISHER OR THE PRINTED BLOG INC. POLITICS FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER NEW POLLS SHOW DEPTH OF SUPPORT FOR OBAMA’S LEADERSHIP By DemFromCT | 4/7/09 | The Daily Kos tpburl.com/n87z3k This country appears to be on the right track, at last. Was it release of the torture memos? The stock market? Michelle’s arms? Teabagging? Regardless, the new AP and Pew polls have some striking changes in the political landscape, and some reaffirmation of Obama’s leadership. First, from AP (MoE +/- 3.1) there’s the startling result of right track being higher than wrong track for the first time in years (January, 2004, actually. And right track was 17 in Octo- ber, prior to the election.) Generally speaking, would you say things in this country RIGHT WRONG are heading in the right direction or in the wrong direction? Obama also gets a 76 for being a strong leader and Repub- 4/20 48% 44% licans are seen (by 65%) as not cooperating enough with him. 2/17 40% 49% His overall approval is 64 (67 in the last poll in February, 2009.) 1/14 35% 54% And Americans cut Obama slack in terms of when to expect 12/08 32% 60% Michal Czerwonka | tpburl.com/n4k8x5 economic improvement (72% say it will take longer than the first year.) On the important question of how to spend the public’s money: As you may know, it is estimated that the federal budget deficit now exceeds one trillion dollars. If you had to choose, what do you think should be the HIGHER priority? [READ EACH ITEM.] [RANDOM- IZE ORDER] Increasing government spending on education, health care reform, and the development of alter- native energy sources, even if that means the federal budget deficit will increase even more 49 Reducing the federal budget deficit by cutting spending, even if that means the government could not enact new programs on education, health care reform, and the development of alternative energy sources 43 That’s actually pretty impressive as no one likes to spend money. Other highlights include a 50-29 lead for support of Dems over the GOP in Congress on handling the economy, support for troops to Afghanistan (53) and withdrawl from Iraq by 2010 (74). The respected Pew poll (MoE +/- 3.0) notes Obama exceeding recent history: As he approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency, Barack Obama’s job approval ratings are higher than those of his most recent predecessors. However, the 44th president is even more distinguished by his strong personal popularity. Fully 73% of Americans – including as many as 46% of Republicans – hold a favorable view of Obama as a person. Fewer people held favorable impressions of George W. Bush (61%) and Bill Clinton (60%) early in their first years. Obama’s job approval stands at 63%, while 26% disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president. His approval rating is up slightly from March (59%). Opinions about Obama’s performance remain highly partisan. Fully 93% of Democrats approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, compared with just 30% of Republicans. Independents’ opinions fall in between, with 58% expressing positive views of his performance and 27% negative opinions. In terms of the ever-popular “partisan” question, along with “what do independents think?” the answer is Obama’s doing very well: Obama’s approval rating among Independents is on par with those of Bush and Clinton. However, more Independents approve of Obama’s performance very strongly (37%) than did so for either Bush (29%) or Clinton (10%). About a quarter of Independents (27%) disapprove of the way Obama is han- dling his job, which is about the same as Bush’s disapproval mark (26%) and lower than Clinton’s (35%).