COVER STORY:  GEEKS
What ever happened to those geeks in high school?  Theyre raising the bar for the
cutting edge technology that has become common place in our lives.  They are creating
controversial NFL video games for Midway Games, like the soon to be released Blitz: The
League.  Or, they are designing cell phones for Motorola like the Razr, or the
yet-to-be-released drool worthy SLVR and PEBL at Motorola.  Others are showing off their
latest creation at Deadtech such as a beer-and-cigarette-fetching robot.  The Garofalo
Architects, who lent their talents to Millenium Park, are currently working on the Hyde
Park Art Center creating an ever-changing experimental electronic fa硤e that
incorporates digital-projection capabilities.  In other geek news, Web Behrens interviews
Jim Lee, the inspiration for the film Batman Begins and creator of the new All-Star
Batman
and Robin comics.  The graphic novelist will be the highlight of this weekends Wizard
World convention along with his collaborator Frank Miller.  Still thirsty for more?  You
can find an outlet for other obsession at quirky clubs such as Belly Dance Chicago,
comprised of belly dancers seeking new techniques and costumes (Easy there boys!),  and
Drinking Liberally (Mixers: politics and alcohol; Republicans welcome).

EAT OUT & DRINK UP
Heather Shouse nabs out-of-towners before they enter national-chain restaurants Buca di
Beppo, Red Lobster, and P.F. Changs, and give them a taste of Chicago originals instead.
 The Verdict:  Chicago Originals!  In addition, David Tamarkin shines the spotlight on
his
Mexican food experience at the Highland Park magnet, Pancho Vitis.  

MUSIC
Matthew Lurie speaks with Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu, who also incorporates hip hop
into his music.  He alternates between a nasal, white-boy flow; a Jamaican patois; and a
croon not so dissimilar from Sublimes Brad Nowell.  When he opens for his childhood hero
Trey Anastasio on Wednesday 10, Matisyahu will be on his way to becoming the first
Hasidic
Jewish performer to reach mainstream America 

FILM
Justine Elias interviews maverick, indie director, Jim Jarmusch about his latest film
Broken Flowers.  Bill Murray plays the role of a man who is driven to revisit his past by
an anonymous letter from an old flame informing him that hes the father of a 19-year-old
son.  Films reviewed:  A Hole in One, Chrystal, Duma, The Edukators, Saraband, Secuestro
Express, My Date with Drew, and Broken Flowers.

BOOKS
Peter Coco interviews Adam Langer, author of the new novel The Washington Story, which is
set against Chicago as it was between Daley mayors: a heady time when Chicago elected its
first woman mayor (Jane Byrne), then Washington, and both the Cubs and Sox came within a
few games of the World Series.  You can hear the admiration enter Adam Laners voice when
he talks about Harold Washington, the former Chicago mayor whose legacy looms large in
the
authors new novel.  A must read for anyone living in Chicago in the mid 80s.  Book
reviews include:  Lydia Millets Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, Jan Jeong Trenkas The
Language of Blood, and Don Naces Drawn Out


CHILL OUT
Rose Spinelli interviews Christopher Carter a mentalist with a one-man show  Christopher
Carter Messes with Your Mind.  Carters show is a masterful blend of feats of illusion,
hypnosis and mind control, sprinkled liberally with stories about the colorful 19th
century characters who form the history of his craft.  Spinelli was even able to persuade
him to divulge the secret to the card trick in which he guesses the card you chose.  

AROUND TOWN
Surprise!  The great lakes are endowed with hundreds of the worlds best preserved
shipwrecks.  Martina Sheehan dove with novices and certified divers alike, exploring the
Straits of Mackinac, a 200-foot-long, 70-year-old steam-powered car and passenger ferry,
for only $80.  Divers explore the ships deck, swim through a doorway and out a hole on
the upper deck, while those who arent certified to enter the hull swim with the schools
of perch that flutter around the wreck.  

ART & DESIGN
Madeline Nusser challenges the readers to learn how to hear differently, stating that
sound is political; and two weeks of solid 1 to 11 pm performances and roaming
exhibitions prove just that.  Open Source/Open Ear is a convergence (read: festival meets
conference) of noise makers, musicians and artists.  The work ranges from racket made by
hardware hacking to melodies created through homemade instruments.  It is a place where
improvisers roulette is played, enabling musicians to exchange partners for impromptu
performances.  

CLUBS
John Dugan speaks to Kate Simko whose Wake Up! night seems to be closing ranks for once,
rather than dividing into infinite subgenres the minimal-techno, IDM and even
experimental scenes.  

COMEDY
Mark Sinclair speaks with Fuzzy Gerdes who has taken improv off the stage and into the
streets for the Neutrino Project.  In the innovative show, the actors solicit suggestions
from the audience, and ask for objects to incorporate into the scenes.  Then, four teams
race out into the streets and begin filming while a runner transports the tapes between
scene locations and the theater. Its a frantic race to produce two minutes of film every
eight minutes.  Neutrino uses the real world as a backdrop for a 50-minute movie which is
filmed and screened in just over an hour.  

DANCE
Asimina Chremos addresses the question of why dance performances arent as well attended
as, say rock concerts or baseball games?  One conclusion is to improve marketing
campaigns.  Chremos summarizes the controversial two-day seminar, Marketing Boot Camp,
held last month at the Chicago Cultural Center, which examined a plethora of opinions
concerning this issue.  

GAY & LESBIAN
Jason Heidemann spotlights singer-songwriter, Melissa Ferrick, who is enjoying a second
run of success and stardom that only add to her repertoire of ten albums.  The last of
which, Drive appeared on her last album.  The erotically charged, six-minute anthem was
an underground hit and mix-tape favorite, spawning legions of Grateful Dead and Phish
style Ferrickheads who have subsequently taken to following her as she tours the U.S.
like shes the Pied Piper of Lesbian Rock.    


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