ARTIST: Ben Chlapek SHOW: Spektral Quartet at Constellation on Sun 6/12 MORE ONLINE: neversleeping.com

Back in 2006, I got my first taste of Irish director Martin McDonagh when his wickedly funny Six Shooter screened at Landmark’s Century Centre along with the other Oscar-nominated live-action shorts. McDonagh took home the award that year, and 12 years later his black comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a strong contender for Best Picture. I wouldn’t be surprised if, a decade from now, we were seeing equally big things from the filmmakers on this year’s program, such as Kevin Wilson Jr....

The long national nightmare of the past four years may not be over, but as the happy pandemonium that erupted this past weekend over the announcement of the Biden/Harris victory clearly demonstrated, a lot of us think there might be a light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t an oncoming train. (No offense to the president-elect and his well-documented love of the choo-choos.) As I was dining on my cuticles awaiting the election results last week, I also saw two different streaming productions that explained a little bit about how we got here....

Street View is a fashion series in which Isa Giallorenzo spotlights some of the coolest styles seen in Chicago. Are clothes important to you? I’ve been (part-time) modeling since 2001, mostly in Europe. I did runway shows for eight seasons in Paris and Milan (the real shows, as New York is a joke in this regard). Campaigns for Hugo Boss, Sandro, Aquascutum, Louis Vuitton (two times!), Corneliani, among others. Where should guys go for style inspiration?...

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, August 29, 2016. Rahm calls rumors that he’ll be ambassador to Israel “ridiculous” Mayor Rahm Emanuel has denied rumors that he might be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins in November. “One can’t say they’re not flattered,” Emanuel said at a press conference Thursday. “I’m absolutely not interested.” [Crain’s Chicago Business] [NBC Chicago]

Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images Chicagoans aren’t fans of what Spike Lee’s calling his next movie. Pathetically defensive: Turkey just recalled its ambassador to the Vatican after the pope called the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks almost a century ago the “first genocide of the 20th century.” Proudly indignant: As word spreads that Spike Lee is setting his next movie in Chicago—where the number of homicides far exceeds that in far bigger New York—and calling it Chiraq, locals speak out....

When I need distraction from the madness of our times, I turn to a particular bit by a comedian named Sarah Cooper. Like the recent riff that Cooper satirizes about “the Black people.” It takes place at one of those impromptu press conferences that Trump frequently holds as he’s about to board a helicopter whose engines are running, so it’s like he’s yelling to be heard above a vacuum cleaner. This gives him the opportunity to say what he wants while having an excuse not to take questions from reporters....

The Reader has never undertaken a music poll like this, and we weren’t sure how many critics would want to contribute. We cast a wide net, and ultimately 57 people submitted ballots. Their 570 picks generated a ranked master list of 338 albums—in other words, less than 41 percent of the entries appear on more than one ballot, a testimony to the broad diversity of taste and opinion among those 57 writers....

You won’t find many tighter showcases of Chicago underground metal bands than tonight’s bill, headlined by the reclusive Indian, who’ve emerged from hibernation to blast the Empty Bottle with their raw, nihilistic doom (in advance of two festival dates). Indian play so rarely these days that their presence alone makes this show a can’t-miss occasion, but tonight (and at Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle) they’ll get a run for their money from sludgy, crusty up-and-comers Immortal Bird....

Jada Judkins, 20 I feel like people are taking it more serious than before, but I do honestly invite people to not fall for the phases, like everything is peachy cream and rainbows. Wash your hands and care about your hygiene. It’s fine the state is opening back up, but stay home if you feel sick. It’s like you’re driving, you have to keep yourself safe and other people as well—do the same when you go into the store....

Q: Let’s say my kink is edging and I edge myself for a few days leading up to a date. Is it my responsibility to tell my potential partner? There are a few variables here that are important to note. This is a first/Tinder date, and it’s just a coffee date, BUT she and I have talked about our expectations, and there will likely be a physical aspect in whatever potential relationship may ensue....

What makes a street great? If you don’t like Lake Michigan, well, pick another Great Lake. Just ask local news-gathering organizations. “People like to eat. Why can’t you buy food right off the street like you can in New York?” Thinking broadly about such a renewed commitment to food vendors, one can imagine that this would also present a new opportunity for minority- and women-owned businesses to participate in this heavily trafficked area....

In a newly developing legal market, cannabis has been making its way into the public eye in more ways than dispensaries alone. As the cannabis industry begins thriving in Chicago and Illinois as a whole, opportunities have been opening up for cannabis-adjacent industries to find their footing in the Illinois business world post-legalization. One company, Chi High Tours, is the first of its kind for the city. Instead of pushing for a license to operate a dispensary, Chi High Tours is the first official cannabis tour to hit Chicago....

Courtesy the artist The O’My’s If you like to nose around on the Reader‘s website, you’ve probably already noticed that we’re hosting a concert at Metro tonight to celebrate our 2015 Best of Chicago issue. If you don’t spend much time here, well, thanks for dropping by, and did I mention this concert yet? Doors are at 8 PM, music at 8:30. Tickets cost $15, and it’s open to ages 18 and up....

On Friday, the Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 14th year—technically its 15th, if you count the Pitchfork-curated Intonation Music Festival in 2005. Since late 2015, Pitchfork the website has been owned by publishing conglomerate Condé Nast, but fortunately that hasn’t affected the distinctiveness of Pitchfork the festival. It stands out even in a city where every summer weekend seems to have half a dozen fests—this year, for instance, Pitchfork overlaps not only with the Silver Room’s long-running block party but also the debut of ComplexCon Chicago, a two-day music and fashion event presented by Complex magazine....

The front page of Tuesday’s Tribune carried a story by religion reporter Manya Brachear Pashman examining the troubles at Wheaton College, where a tenured professor is in grave danger of losing her job. Known as the “Harvard of Christian colleges,” writes Pashman, Wheaton is always on the lookout for “quality faculty who can integrate their Christian faith with the topics they teach.” Then I read the letter to Hawkins from provost Stanton Jones explaining how she had strayed....

For the first few weeks, I was ignorantly, arrogantly certain we’d all pick up more or less where we left off. Soon. The last live show I saw, J. Nicole Brooks’s Her Honor Jane Byrne at Lookingglass, would finish its run, and if the world was just, be extended. The sorrow of closing the show the same week it opened would become a do-you-remember-that-wild-time-when war story. Teenage Dick was an early case in point....

Zack Stoner dedicated his life to documenting parts of Chicago that few outsiders with video cameras ever bother to visit. He uploaded his interviews to YouTube as ZackTV, so you could call him a vlogger—his channel, ZackTV1, has more than 175,000 subscribers. You could call him a journalist too, because he did tremendous work capturing local artists in their elements, sometimes before anyone outside Chicago knew who they were—Chief Keef, 600 Breezy, Rico Recklezz, Queen Key, FBG Duck....

Caldbeck’s concern for others grew throughout his educational experiences. “I was able to go to private schools, see movies, and go to college with fewer concerns about how to pay for it.” His involvement with sports, clubs, and other organizations taught him the importance of lifting others up, and it shaped how he approaches relationships and business to this day. Now, helping people is as natural as breathing. “One of the first organizations I joined....