Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Well, the big news I have to share with all of you is that I've been named an Associate Editor at Chicagoist and now head up all the Arts & Entertainment coverage. My predecessor, the inimitable Scott Smith, has moved on to commandeer the web editor position at Time Out Chicago. So this new position is a rather bittersweet one; I am excited to be working with a terrific staff of writers and look forward to keeping Chicagoist on the top of the heap when it comes to reporting on music, books, media, theater, art, and so on. At the same time, I really loved working with Scott and I believe his guidance really helped sharpen up some of my own writing skills that had grown fat with self-indulgence over the years.

Also, I have received news that my brother, his wife, my niece, and my nephew are relocating back to the Chicago area from Canada. My brother just accepted a job in the States so this move seems rather sudden to me. Again, it is a bittersweet development since I know how excited my brother, and my family, is to have him back in the area. At the same time his wife is a proud Canadian, and while I tease her mercilessly about it I do actually respect her devotion to her homeland. (Or homelands ... I know she has dual citizenship in Canada and the U.K.) So i hope to be available in whatever way necessary to help make her transition go smoothly.

The other ch-ch-ch-change isn't really a change so much as it is an announcement. Don't forget that I am still on hiatus from The Pontiac, so if you swing by there tonight to see me you're going to be disappointed. But don't let that stop you from visiting Mikey anyway! (Also, mark your calendar, because I will be back at The Pontiac next week. Yay!)

And while I'm on the subject of announcements (and remain king of the relatively painless segue) don't forget about the bill I have put together at Double Door this Thursday. The Midnight Shows, Brad Peterson, La Scala, and tenniscourts are sure to impress even the most stone faced indie-rock hipster, and between each band I'll be spinning mini-sets of tunes to keep you grooving until the next acts paralyzes you with their genius.

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That pop culture you just can't get enough of.

Battlestar Galactica
(SPOILER ALERT!) Battlestar Galactica is still one of my favorite shows on television, but they seem to have lost some steam since the mid-season break. The Starbuck / Apollo storyline is starting to grate (and cause me to want to bitch slap the whiny little Apollo just about every other second he's on-screen) and everything just seems to have slowed down. Part of this can't be helped since the season took off at a breakneck pace the writers couldn't hope to sustain, but it's still a little worrying to see the plot lines falling back on the overly familiar tropes of the star crossed lovers and the righteous search for the truth by any means possible.

24
(SPOILER ALERT!) Well, on this week's 24 Jack Bauer again mysteriously gets his ass kicked by common goons at the end of the episode in order to build (a minimum of) suspense for next week. I'm just waiting for the scene where Jack and his dad punch out some baddies Tango & Cash stylee. Overall this was one of those episodes where we mostly circle around a few plot lines, without all that much happening, in order to kill an hour. I expect next week should be a little more exciting. I'm still not totally feeling this season, but if I remember correctly I had much the same reaction thus far into last year's season, so I'm not making any final judgments yet.

Heroes
(NO SPOILERS HERE!) Oh that's right, Heroes is on at the same time as 24 so I have no update! I have to wait until I have enough time to watch this weeks episode online while dodging websites with potential spoilers. Yay! I will say that I find Maureen Ryan's resistance to the show to be kind of charming. I know what it's like to intensely dislike something, only to have it explode into a megapopular beast and thus cause you to retrace your steps and question whether or not you've missed something.

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A request for information.

I was pretty sick with a cold yesterday, and these things usually only hit me for twenty-four hours at a time, but I feel even worse today. I hear this particular strain has been making the rounds, so can anyone else who's been sick recently (in the Chicago area) let me know how long this particular virus is going to hold on for? Ick.