Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Step aside, divas. Mariah Carey is back. Big time. The figures are still being tallied, but it’s a strong bet that her new disc, “Charmbracelet,” will be the top debut on the next Billboard album chart. Estimates of first-week sales range from 200,000 to 270,000–about double what Carey managed with last year’s much-maligned soundtrack to her movie flop “Glitter.”
Gina Oswald is a fictional character, but you’ll recognize her immediately when you see her cheesy schtick in the Noble Fool Theater’s revival of the holiday revue “Roasting Chestnuts: Oy! It’s Christmas.” She is the performer whose insincerity rings through with every verse. She is the entertainer who doesn’t realize her moment has long since passed. And to her whipped co-stars, she is the lipsticked tyrant who rules her brood with an iron fist.
Are you ready for some football? TV isn’t the only place you’ll find some good games, especially if you’re into interactive sports where there’s little chance you’ll get hurt (outside of a little carpal tunnel, perhaps). Here we try out the slew of new video games on the market, telling you which score touchdowns and which fumble near the goal line.
Inspired by the Christmas productions at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, country superstar Martina McBride has decided to undertake her own holiday tour. McBride’s first annual “The Joy of Christmas” tour reaches the UIC Pavilion on Sunday.
It’s 8 o’clock on a Friday night. Chris’s Billiards on Chicago’s Northwest Side is full of some serious pool players. They glance at our table. If they’re thinking we’re uncoordinated players, they’re too polite to point that out. Instead, a kindly gentleman walks over and suggests we take a bit more time to focus before we hit the ball. “It just takes a little getting used to,” he says. “You’ll get used to it.” Though my friend and I have only played pool a combined total of five times–ever–we’re having a ball.