Fuck Tucker Carlson, fuck his apology tour, and fuck anything he says.

The Puerto Rican statue flap: Who was Pedro Albizu Campos and why is he unfit for public property? - Chicago Reader Nearly two months have passed since the Park District board voted to keep a statue of Puerto Rican nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos from being erected in Humboldt Park, but the case just won’t die. In ...

Deja vu all over (although it certainly looks like the political winds are in favor of this happening now):
chicagoreader.com/news/the-pue...

The Puerto Rican statue flap: Who was Pedro Albizu Campos and why is he unfit for public property? - Chicago Reader Nearly two months have passed since the Park District board voted to keep a statue of Puerto Rican nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos from being erected in Humboldt Park, but the case just won’t die. In ...

The battle around the first statue was, really, over 30 years ago. Ben Joravsky wrote about it for the Reader way back when:
chicagoreader.com/news/the-pue...

Statue Of Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican Liberation Activist, Proposed For Humboldt Park The Albizu Campos statue is one of four proposals from the Park District program, which is aiming to diversify monuments in the city.

I find it fascinating that the story doesn't go into the first attempts in placing a similar statue in Humboldt Park more than a decade ago which caused an outroar from the President of Casa Central, an outspoken anti-Castro Cuban. That statue today stands in what is known as La Casita.

My fourth Q&A for the Festival will be today at 3:30 p.m. with director William D. Caballero about his very personal, multi-format animation film about memory, loss and the healing power of the arts. For tickets: clff42.eventive.org/schedule/69a...

Then a short break from Q&Aing until Thursday.

Books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books

Every time a Democrat mentions how to talk to "ordinary people" they mean "how I was told to talk by a handful of weirdo consultants in DC with gross fixations on throwing certain groups under the bus and who would not last a day in an ordinary job interacting with ordinary people."

I'm so out of patience with this kind of mockery. Yes, progressive language is jargon-y and occasionally irritating. You know how long ago that started? Roughly the dawn of time. So be irritated privately. But whining about it is like discrediting a picket sign because you hate the font.

If your thing is inventing demons on the left in order to depict progressivism as some kind of disease, go be a Republican. I think Beshear is basically a good guy, but this kind of self-credentialing is pandering trash.

A repeat performance for the second screening this afternoon. Hopefully, the audience won't be as passive as last night's who all seem to be in a state of shock after the film was over. Tickets: clff42.eventive.org/schedule/69a...

I was safe inside a movie theater and now I have to head home.😬

In case you haven't made any plans yet for tonight.

Well, happy birthday, indeed!

please understand how restrained this was for a Chicagoan

Family of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera Suing Department, Partner Who Fatally Shot Her The family of Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera, who was fatally shot in the line of duty this year by a fellow officer, says the shooting came after she broke off a romantic relationship with her...

COPA released BWC video this morning showing CPD PO Carlos Baker kill PO Krystal Rivera.

It looks as bad as Rivera’s family described.

You would have thought Rivera was between Baker and the man they chased to end up in the line of fire.

But video shows Rivera was ~behind~ Baker.

Background:

If there are any Democrats who are thinking of running for the presidency on 2028 on anything less than a clear agenda of widespread prosecution for this administration's corruption and fundamental structural changes to ensure it can't happen again, they should just stop right there.

Had a fantastic Q&A with IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS' co-directors Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás, and hope to have an equally insightful one with the team behind the Puerto Rican science-fiction flex BOREALIS. It screens at 8 p.m. Tickets: clff42.eventive.org/films/69a0de...

Mamdani hasn't had time to really think about all that space he now has, because he spends most of his time at City Hall and around New York City. He tries to keep a semblance of his old life by getting around the city on foot, by bike or train. "If you spend every single day driving around in a tinted window security detail, you will have a very specific view of the city," he said. "You actually meet other New Yorkers and you break out of the bubble that so many have come to expect of politics, where politicians only seem to be spending time with other politicians or the people who donated to make them politicians."

I'd say that this applies to anyone traveling in a car in any city. Being in a car versus walking, riding, or taking transit fundamentally changes how you view a place and your relationship to it. I wish more leaders set this kind of example.

www.npr.org/2026/04/16/n...

And acting like the only community now is a physical one is a fallacy. There are many disabled people, or those in rural areas, that need streaming for access and are a part of thriving web communities. Dismissing that is the type of elitism in cinephilia that is frustrating and hard to reconcile.

I love going to cities with active video stores, especially the beacons like Scarecrow in Seattle and Videodrome in Atlanta. Those feel like tried and true community spaces. But digital formats and access aren’t going anywhere; the two can exist in harmony. We don’t need to cancel VOD to like discs.

It’s a libertarian fantasy from someone who never read enough history. But FOMO and tech prattle about blockchain has financial institutions trying to jump on board. That will only make the institutions vulnerable. As for stablecoin: Like Mr. Burns, I’d be happier *with* the dollar—not the stand-in.

How a 233-Year-Old Wall Street Institution Went All In on Crypto NYSE, the biggest and oldest U.S. stock exchange, has placed its bets that digital assets are part of its future.

I cannot express how stupid this is.

Crypto is not money. You really do need a sovereign state for that. It’s a dumb asset. It does not represent ownership in or a loan to a productive enterprise. It’s a digital doo-dad. Thus it will always be volatile.

www.wsj.com/finance/curr...

My interview this morning with Fox 32 Chicago wherein I speak about the Festival in my usually irreverent but still highly professional style…

Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich.

Live Nation Loses Jury Trial to States In Monopoly Case The ruling has major implications across the live music business, as a judge will now decide on remedies, which could include a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Pass the popcorn, please. (I meant, I could be really snarky and say "No shit, Sherlock" but, hey, I'll take my wins wherever they come from):

My interview this morning with Fox 32 Chicago wherein I speak about the Festival in my usually irreverent but still highly professional style…

I keep reminding people that any sort of writing is not the product of me waving a magic wand and screaming Escribamus a la Harry Potter. It takes thinking, a lot of thinking… and once you sit in front of the computer, trial & error…ideas discarded, others embraced, etc.

Me, too…

The first of seven Q&As I am moderating for the 42nd Chicago Latino Film Festival will be for tomorrow's Sold Out Opening Night screening of IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS with filmmakers Mariana Rondón & Marité Ugás. Tickets for second screening still available:
clff42.eventive.org/schedule/69a...

Coming soon to downtown Chicago...right across the street from the Lake Street Screening Room (for the rare press screening in that most memorable of places for us Chicago critics).