Bar stool perspective.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 26, 2012: Bar stool perspective.

I was home working during the first half of the Bulls-Pacers game, but with the second half set to pop and the game not available on our digital antenna, I put on my shoes and set out for the Blue Line Bar. It was a strong crowd for a Wednesday night, with most eyes tuned into the game. I grabbed a seat in the middle of the bar, ordered my Blue Russian, and settled in.

A masterpiece.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 25, 2012: A masterpiece.

I stepped into Santullo’s for a lunch slice, and there it was: The coolest mustache I have ever seen.

The coolest mustache I’ve ever seen was light blonde, bushy above the lip, with ends that extended below the chin and grew sharp and more individualized the lower they went, until each strand near the chin was a single blade of pointed hair. It had the look of a fan-style drum brush that jazz drummers use. Each protruding strand had the consistency of a dangerous toothpick, like something out of a particularly vicious Swiss Army Knife. I ordered my slice and then resumed staring at the mustache. Finally, I addressed its facial agriculturalist:

Curse words.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 24, 2012: Curse words.

Less than 24 hours after my last trip there, I was back at the Billy Goat for lunch. I took my pop and chips to the back booth in the “Billy Goat V.I.P.” section, and then grabbed the day’s Sun-Times and, when it was ready, my double burger.

Bulls and goats.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 23, 2012: Bulls and goats.

I had an hour and a half to kill before seeing a show at Reggie’s Rock Club, so I decided to kill some time at the Goat. I was coming from a reading at the Hideout, and the walk down North Ave. to the Red Line was frigid. Wind seemed to stick in my eyes, and I was happy to reach the train.

Coloring.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 22, 2012: Coloring.

From the floor I watched as the lights of the projector shined above her curled hair. She sat on the couch in the red glow of the Ambulance Factory and spoke with her friend, and I sat in front of them, legs crossed, gazing up, feeling like the bright shining center of the world.

People With Passion, Sam Smith — EXCERPTS

For the 21st installment of my Chicago journalism People With Passion series, I sat down with legendary Bulls basketball writer Sam Smith for a Skype conversation that lasted more than two hours. We covered Smith’s entire career — his childhood in Brooklyn, his introduction to journalism, his political writing in Fort Wayne and then D.C., his arrival at the Tribune, the writing of The Jordan Rules, his departure from the Tribune, and his tenure at Bulls.com.

Since this is such a long, rich interview, I have split it into three parts, running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, all at our Eye On Chi blog on ChicagoNow. Here, now, are excerpts from all three parts:

And life was like a song.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 20, 2012: And life is like a song.

When I woke and went online, the top headline at BBC was about the temporary shelving of anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. The second was about French soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The one that got my attention, made me sigh and smile, was news of the death of Etta James.

Immediately I flipped to youtube and pulled up “At Last.” Those sweet strings, the anticipation, and then that voice. As if no one else has ever sung a song.

A day.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 19, 2012: A day.

In the morning, I went to bed.

I’d been up all night working on the final edit of an interview with the Reader’s Ben Joravsky, and then posting the story, finding each photo, copying each youtube link. I tweeted the story around 7 a.m., emailed the links to Ben, emailed friends and family, closed my computer and walked into my room, where my phone’s morning alarm was going off. I called Kris and wished her a great day, said goodnight, and went to sleep.

People With Passion: Ben Joravsky

A People with Passion series

Chicago journalism

December 20, 2011: Ben Joravsky

Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Reader, with Mayor Daley. (photo by Hunter Clauss)

We are seated at a window table at Starbucks at the Irving Park/Lincoln/Damen intersection. Ben holds the tape recorder like a microphone as he speaks, as if he is dictating his autobiography. He speaks in person with the passion, knowledge, authority, and irreverence displayed in his work.

In the 20th installment of my Chicago journalism People With Passion interview series — and a return for 2012 — Chicago Reader political writer Ben Joravsky discusses the challenges in writing about Chicago’s tax increment financing program, the cluelessness of Chicagoans, the trouble with aldermen, and the beating down of the journalism profession.

Common sense.

Time To Settle Accounts

January 17, 2012: Common sense.

It was late afternoon when I stepped on the Kedzie Green Line. The train car was well-populated but not crowded, and I stood by the door and began to read. Four people sat in the back of the car. On my right was a white guy in his 20s – blond hair, black hoodie, blue jeans, with his Timberlands propped up on the seat next to him. On my left was an older black couple seated next to each other, and a young man, also black, dressed similarly as the white guy. The three people on the left were staring at the guy on the right, who seemed to be in the midst of a speech.