Final Project

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Phillip Lantz Design

Phillip Lantz Design from Kat McCullough on Vimeo.

Phillip Lantz thought he had a secure job, a career path laid out and a life plan in place.

Then the recession struck, and Lantz found himself laid off from Robyn Shapiro Design after over two years with the company. Collecting unemployment and uncertain what step to take next, Lantz began getting calls from previous clients, asking him to do some work for them.

“I would like to say that it was all my own gumption, but it kind of happened to me,” Lantz said of starting his own business.

Since the interest was there from clients, Lantz decided to start his own company. While he has faced some difficulties with the business side- he had to buy bookkeeping programs and figure out the process of incorporating- Lantz wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lantz is taking the changes to his life plan in stride. “My plan was to put in my time here, move to a warmer place and then start, but I’m realizing now that’s it’s worked out better for me because of the connections that I’ve made,” he said.

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Burn baby burn

Cowritten and photo by the incomparable Kathryn Murphy

Debate is firing up the Northwest Side over the restoration and controlled burning at Chicago Forest Preserves, with proponents saying the efforts are necessary while opposing groups feel the ends don’t justify the means.

Organizations like Friends of the Forest Preserves and the Audubon Society support prescribed burning and removal of non-native species in order to restore the natural habitats of the area. Trees for Life’s and Urban Wildlife Coalition, on the other hand, see it as unneeded destruction with significant risks to the community’s health and safety.

“These ecosystems are still at risk because of severe fragmentation, the lack of fire and invasive species,” said Susan Witkowski a volunteer at the Friends of the Forest Preserves. “Many native plants are fire-dependent, relying on fire to germinate and keep invasives at bay.”

She explained that ecologists have established fire helped shape the state’s landscape dating back tens of thousands of years.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ecological restoration is the process of returning disturbed ecosystems to their original condition. It encompasses such activities as controlled burning, chemical adjustment of soil and water and reintroducing native plant life. A chief point of opposition for anti-restoration groups is that the Forest Preserve District of Cook County is trying to create an entirely different ecosystem in La Bagh Woods—a 600 acre forest preserve in North Park.

“We’re not against it if it’s where it belongs,” said Elaine Lorenz, one of the founders Trees for Life. “But to try to change one ecosystem to a different ecosystem, bottom line is, it’s destruction and they’re changing the ecosystem.

Bathsheba Birman of the Urban Wildlife Coalition had difficulty understanding the need for controlled burning. There is a big difference, she said, between allowing naturally occurring fires to take place and artificially introducing fires in places that would rarely burn naturally.

“There are ways to appreciate nature without having to control it,” Birman said. “We don’t have to be on the giving end of a chainsaw, hacksaw or herbicide swab.”

Steven Frankel, a biology professor at Northeastern Illinois University, said the burning is necessary, “if you wish to have a prairie habitat or open woodland habitat that is like what should be here, you have to have fire. Fire was a natural part of that ecosystem. You don’t have to burn if you don’t care what’s there.”

Even if a particular habitat isn’t the end goal, burning is an important factor in maintaining “historically coherent, ecologically healthy conditions,” according to Joe Walsh, a lecturer in biological science at Northwestern University.

“Fire is a historically normal occurrence in our region,” Walsh said, “and the local plants are adapted to it, the same way they are adapted to our cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers. When you take the fire away, they do not know what to do; their adaptations no longer make sense in a world without fire, and they die. It is as though their world was polluted.”

Frankel explained that burning is necessary not only in the prairies but also in the woodlands.

“There is no great movement to convert all of Chicago into prairie. It’s just ridiculous,” Frankel said. “A lot of these trees shouldn’t be here because they’re from other countries or ecologically speaking you wouldn’t find certain kinds of trees growing in certain habitats. They’re there because we’ve so disrupted the habitats.”

Birman’s concerns are not limited to what happens in the forest preserves. There are also health risks that accompany ecological restoration in the city, she said.

“It’s inappropriate in an urban area,” she said. “All the particulates that are released, and the proximity to homes. It’s a danger to the elderly, children and asthmatics. Neighbors wouldn’t be allowed to burn like that, but the forest preserve can?”

In addition to the health risks, there is also a possibility of the controlled fires becoming uncontrollable. Birman cited four such fires in the last decade: Itasca, March 2006; Carol Stream, April 2005; Morris, April 2003; Markham, November 1999.

“The forest preserve is disposing of cut wood, these are not ecological burns, they are landscape burns,” Birman said. “There’s a strong possibility these might go out of control.”

According to Witkowski, controlled burns are held in the spring and fall at several sites in the Chicago region that have been evaluated and deemed eligible.

“Burning only occurs when the wind, humidity and temperature make conditions safe. Local fire and police, officials and neighbors are notified,” Witkowski said. “Burns are conducted by trained personnel equipped with appropriate tools. Permits for burns are issued by the Illinois EPA and the Cook County Department of Environment.”

“After a burn, plants burst into life in the burn area,” Witkowski said. With the new plant life comes increased quality to the air and water and decreased risk of wildfires.

Birman, however, remains unsatisfied. “They’re saying the ends justify the means, but that’s really for the community and the public to determine, if the benefits outweigh the costs,” Birman said.

Sentimentality within the community also plays into the resistance to change the forest preserves. Many have become very attached to the forests with which they grew up.

“I grew up here,” said Mary Lee Paoletti of the National Forest Advocates. “My mother and grandmother grew up here. This is part of the community just as much as our churches or anything else.”

A little bit of Seoul

Hidden within a non-descript building on Montrose Avenue in Albany Park lies a relaxation haven rarely found in the Western world. For nearly 20 years Korean-run Paradise Sauna has been offering massage, exfoliation, sauna, steam rooms and hot tub in Seoul-style.

Make no mistake however, this isn’t a fancy schmancy spa. “I think to those who go regularly it's a necessary cleansing and health ritual-- kind of like a deep cleaning for your body-- and not a frilly, girly, spa experience,” said Anna, a frequent sauna-goer and fan of Paradise.

While the facilities are clean there are no plush robes, pitchers of artesian lemon water or other fussy luxuries. The services and prices are posted next to the reception desk in Korean and English. Paying $18 for the sauna plus a $2 key deposit, you receive a towel, washcloth, cotton robe and locker key.

The women and men’s facilities are completely separate. Massages are $40 for 30 minutes, $60 for an hour, or you can get a package deal of scrub, 60-minute massage and sauna entrance for $100.

The sauna area is a large room with a hot tub, cold tub, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, and showers. It is required to shower and scrub yourself before getting into the tubs, and Korean style sit-down showers as well as regular showers are offered. The showers have shampoo and bar soap, keeping with the no-frills scene.

In the ladies side, women of all shapes, sizes, ages and races lounge in the tubs and sauna. People give a few sideways glances here and there, but mostly everyone keeps to themselves. On one side of the room sits a massage table where a Korean woman in lacy black lingerie gives intense exfoliating scrubs.

“I like that it's separated by sex, and that you are required to be naked, because it has always struck me as strange to be sitting, sweating, and in your clothes that are getting all of your dirty sweat all over them, ” Anna said. “Nobody really cares what anybody else is doing there, so you can really tune out. To me, the idea of sauna is about detoxing, and getting clean-- you're sweating out impurities, and then shocking the system by a dip in alternating cold and hot pools.”

Signs in Korean Hangol and English explain what is what and the basic sauna rules. The staff is helpful and friendly, although there are obvious language barriers. Miming things while naked can be awkward but necessary.

Next to the locker room there is a nap room with Korean newspapers, television and chairs. Beyond this is the massage room, where you can get one of the best cheap massages of your life. Stopping just short of painful, the masseuse’s get all of the tense spots, even climbing on the table to get all of the knots out of your back.

This type of sauna is common throughout Asia, with people going to hang out for much of the day and relaxing, not just stopping in for a quick treatment. “My experience with American saunas is that people are hung up on keeping their towels or swimsuits or whatever on, and more concerned with the frills and surroundings than with sweating stuff out. It's not viewed as a necessity, but more of a treat, and thus not taken as a health thing, but more as a luxury,” Anna said.

Paradise Sauna is located at 2910 W Montrose Ave, for information call (773) 588-3304.

Potholes- my first thrilling story!

Logan Blvd holes

You’re driving along, enjoying your morning coffee or some hot tunes on the car stereo, when suddenly- BOOM. It sends the coffee everywhere, starts the CD skipping. You curse yourself for not seeing it, the winter driving nemesis- the pothole.

After one of the coldest January’s in Chicago in decades, our roads are looking a little worse for the wear. The Chicago Department of Transportation has gone high-tech to fight the pothole problem.

CDOT uses motorist calls to 311, along with a computerized mapping and tracking system to identify potholes and schedule crews to fill them. When weather is cooperating, CDOT crews can fill several thousand potholes a day.

While this is an impressive number, the inconvenience to drivers and damage to cars is still an issue. Scientists and engineers are working to not only make improvements in the way potholes are repaired, but to someday prevent potholes from happening.

According to CDOT, potholes form because of the winter freeze and eventual thaw. Water gets into the pavement, and when the pavement freezes this moisture expands. When the pavement thaws the moisture contracts. This flexing of the pavement, along with the stress of vehicles, causes the pavement to break down and potholes to form.

According to Brian Steele at CDOT, “Asphalt and concrete formulations have been essentially the same for decades. A few improvements have been introduced in recent years--for example, we use a high-performance cold-patch material for pothole patching that adheres better to the roadway surface than traditional cold-patch--making repairs last longer.”

Pablo Durango-Cohen, professor of Transportation Systems Analysis and Planning at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, says that their focus is on developing new and better materials. “There are a number of new materials and compounds being used to seal roadways,” said Durango-Cohen. “They dry quicker and are less permeable so they let less moisture seep through.”

Whether or not the pothole problem has increased this year is up for debate.

Logan Square resident Mike Hocking, 28, says this year seems similar to last year. “I honestly haven’t noticed it being different or worse.” Hocking said the city seemed to be on top of the problem. “They did repave a couple of streets in my neighborhood recently. They did Palmer Square Boulevard.”

At Quick Oil on West Armitage Avenue in Logan Square, employee Gardenia Garcia had a different opinion. “The roads are worse this year. You try to avoid it as much as possible. There’s a big ugly pothole on California and Milwaukee, and on Logan Square heading towards Western.”

Garcia said that Quick Oil, which does tire repair in addition to oil changes, hasn’t noticed an increase in tire customers or reports of pothole damage.

Steele says this year is slightly behind last year, but last year was the worst they had seen in the last decade. So far this year about 150,000 potholes have been filled. Last year from December 1-April 30 approximately 400,000 were filled.

While the pothole’s days may be numbered, for now the city urges you to call 311 if you see, or rather feel, a pothole.

Holler

Yeah, I'm back. I'm in J-school now, and they have recommended we start, like, writing shit. Because we're attempting to do that with our lives, they think we need to practice. Pshaaaaaaw I say, but because I'm going to be paying for this education until I'm a senior citizen, I guess I should heed a few of their suggestions. And it's not like blogging is hard. It's on the difficulty level of going up three stairs or opening a crab claw.

So stay tuned!

Mommy's Crying. Somewhere, so is a puppy.

This post is about Britney Spears. Don't you groan, roll your eyes, judge and navigate away from me so quickly. It's also about you, and me, all of us, what and who we've become. Popping into a liquor store today for my usual 5pm fix I passed the magazine rack, my eyes caught Us Weekly, which I stopped subscribing to back in '04 when I realized all of the info, and the same info in video form was available for free online. If I really needed it. Today as I glanced at the cover it held a tore up Britney Spears and doughy adorable son Sean Preston/Jaded James/Sutton Pierce, both looking hurried, off guard and distraught. The headline: "Mommy's Crying". And before I knew it, I laughed. I had a flash of glee at her suffering. Immediately I began to schadenFreud myself. Why was I laughing? That's not funny at all, a kid crying over his mother being a disaster. Why did I know she was a disaster with a taste for tequila and umbrella beat-downs? And why was I even seeing this child on a magazine at a liquor store? It's because we have become a tech savvy bunch of sadists. Building and propping and hoisting up freakshow muppets for our newsstand amusement.

Not that I'm one to judge. As I clicked through my daily blogs (JasonMulgrew, Fourfour, GoFugYourself, et al) I happened on the Us Weekly page. By happened on I mean typed into my browser. Now Britney had been charged with a series of misdemeanors for crashing into someones car and leaving while the paparazzi cameras recorded. Us offered a poll: Do you feel sorry for Britney? My mouse hesitated on Yes. I selected No. The results rang up 50-50. Fitting. What does pity or sympathy matter- anyone voting in a poll on the Us Weekly website has already put the nail in her- and our societal soul's- coffin.


Oh, and also, Marcia Brady had lesbian sex with Jan. Who are we?

Hpy Bday 2 u

Omfg yo! It may be the most important bday of our generation. :-) is 25. Don't be all :/, this is important. Like :-O. Like that. Before the emoticon, we were all :'( How could we :* our chat room boyfriend? We couldn't.

And that was :p because there was no <3 Thank you, ~$Scott E. Fahlman$~, for significantly contributing to the destruction of our language. B-)

[CNN- emoticon birthday]

If the Butterscotch Stallion can't make it...

what hope is there for the rest of us?

• Soulless yuppies will have to stay in the warm Starbucks wifi womb for awhile longer. Typing this blog whilst chilling outside of the Daley Center, surrounded by coked up traders and homeless would be pretty sweet. Sigh, someday. [ChiTrib]


• Jim Mueller has Alzheimers at the age of 38. Maybe you do too? I'm just saying, haven't you been forgetting things lately? [SunTimes]


• Lance Briggs crashed his car and shaded out of the accident site, perchance alcohol was a factor, blah blah blah. Let's focus on what's important- where was he partying before fucking up his Lambo? Krem and Level. Couldn't he get into Ontourage? [Chicagoist]


• Indiana is determined to destroy our water and air. [NBC5]

Are we going to Die?

Outside- what a fucking mess. After huddling in a hallway with some writers during the tornado warning, I tried to navigate the flooded and tree-debris filled streets with my trusty VW Billy. Bad was my decision to drive to work, and therefore home. The second line of storms was moving in as I was inching down Clark street, I had just been informed that there was no power at my apt, and so I decided to bail. I cruised it over to various friends houses for some weather-day fun. Arriving home late night, my hood looked like a fancy war-zone. No lights east of Southport, branches and other various shit everywhere, drunk people stumbling around looking confused. Same as usual, but darker. More coming today, so bunker down, fuckers.