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Floating on cloud pink

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Lisa A. said she remembers being half a fifth of booze and seven anti-anxiety pills into her day when she decided to walk to the liquor store.

As she drunkenly wandered across a McDonald's drive-thru, a slow-moving SUV ran over her, she said. When she came to, she had tire marks across her torso, gravel lodged in her body and a ticket with multiple citations against her. She was only in the hospital for about a half hour before she ripped the IV out from her arm and left to get more alcohol.

"I had a lot of [signs] that I was no longer a successful drinker or drugger," she said.

Lisa, who was 33 at the time and more than 15 years into her alcohol and drug addiction, entered treatment four times between 2001 and 2008, but relapsed several times in that period. Each relapse was met with moments of clarity and euphoria because she no longer was using alcohol or drugs.

That euphoric feeling during early addiction recovery often is referred to as a "pink cloud." The length of time spent in the "pink cloud" can vary because each addict's recovery is individualized, experts say.

"Pink cloud" can be risky because it creates an unrealistically happy period of time, said Andrea King, a professor in the department of psychiatry and director of the Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago. That kind of thinking is not rational for the addict.

"They really need to take it one day at a time," King said. "Pink cloud is thought of as, 'It's pink, it's a cloud and everything is great and I'm cured.' And that's often not the way it goes for most people."

King said that kind of enthusiasm is common because there's relief in being sober, but addicts often don't recognize that the road ahead is going to be challenging. Pink cloud can act as a replacement high, King said. But if the addicts aren't working toward recovery, they aren't dealing with the emotions and triggers that led them to drink in the first place.

 

EXTRA: How to spot an addict in relapse

 

One 27-year-old woman who lives in Chicago and has been sober for 19 months said she felt so powerful after getting sober the first time that she thought she could start drinking again. She said she prefers to stay anonymous because she is an active participant in Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

"The 'pink cloud' is just another way to distort reality, a fantasy replacement for the substance you were abusing," she said.


But she said in order to survive the pink cloud, an addict needs to be grounded.

"If you start to feel out of touch with reality-whether you're feeling too good or too bad-that means it's time to get outside yourself and help someone," she said.

For Lisa, she wanted to recover on her own terms. But she never did more than what was suggested and quickly fell back into old behaviors, she said. As she went through treatment, she would pick and choose what she thought she would benefit from. Each time she came out of the pink cloud, she thought she was fine, she said.

Her substance abuse started at 16 with alcohol and continued with powdered cocaine and benzodiazepines, a drug used to help anxiety and panic attacks. By the time she was 32, she was drinking about a gallon of vodka per day. She said she was so active in her addiction, she needed to drink as soon as she woke up and would continue throughout the day until she was unconscious.

"I was so far from reality," she said. "I thought I was still having a party. Just me, myself and I. And we were like 'woohoo.' But [it] wasn't 'woohoo' anymore. I was in denial."

Lisa-who is currently a counselor at a Chicago-area rehabilitation clinic-said she self-medicated after her accident, but eventually got herself back into treatment. She said she realized that the treatment professionals' recommendations were no longer suggestions, but orders if she wanted to survive her addiction.

"I did every single thing that everybody told me," she said. "We can't think our way into acting because thinking was my whole problem. I thought my way right out of the program all the time. ... I had to act my way into thinking so I could retrain myself to live in a different way.

 

EXTRA: Where to find help with your addiction

 

Despite being sober for six and a half years, her recovery still has its ups and downs. She has bad days, during which she feels hopeless, she said, but she goes back to that pink cloud feeling and it reminds her that she's sober and far from living the life she had lived for so long.

"I wake up and am just grateful I'm breathing some days. I was a gutter drunk," Lisa said. "I had no business being alive."

saamato@redeyechicago.com | @saamato

 

You can find our coverage online and in print every Wednesday this year. As ever, we'd like to hear your feedback. If you want us to consider sharing your stories related to addiction in our publication, please send them to redeye@redeyechicago.com with "Addiction" in the subject line.

 

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Emanuel claims victory over Garcia, secures second term

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel soundly defeated challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia on Tuesday, capturing a second term in Chicago's first-ever runoff election and striking a note of humility by thanking voters for "a second term and a second chance."

The win followed six weeks of a hard-fought, nationally watched second round in which Garcia tried to cast the contest as the latest proxy battle between establishment Democrats and the party's progressive wing. Emanuel's overwhelming financial advantage ultimately helped save the mayor as he fought for his political life.

"To all the voters, I want to thank you for putting me through my paces," Emanuel said after springing to the stage as U2's "Beautiful Day" blared at the plumbers union hall. "I will be a better mayor because of that. I will carry your voices, your concerns into the mayor's office."

With 98 percent of the city's precincts reporting, Emanuel had 55.7 percent of the unofficial vote to 44.3 percent for Garcia.

Emanuel congratulated the Cook County commissioner on running an "excellent campaign" and said a contest that featured an immigrant and the grandson of an immigrant showed why Chicago "is the greatest city in America."

Garcia spoke to a raucous crowd at the UIC Forum about his journey from humble beginnings as a 5-year-old who came to the U.S. from Durango, Mexico, to eventually run for mayor of the nation's third-largest city.

"To all the little boys and girls watching: We didn't lose today. We tried today. We fought hard for what we believe in," Garcia said. "You don't succeed at this or anything else unless you try. So keep trying. Keep standing up for yourselves and what you believe in."

Emanuel portrayed the win as allowing him to continue a public life that has included senior roles for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and leading the 2006 Democratic takeover of the U.S. House while serving in Congress.

"While a lot of people describe Chicago in a lot of ways, all of us describe it as home. To the Second City that voted for a second term and a second chance: I have had the good fortune to serve two presidents. I have had the good fortune of being elected to Congress," said a hoarse Emanuel, who soon after received a congratulatory call from Obama. "Being elected mayor of the city of Chicago is the greatest job I've ever had and the greatest job in the world. I'm humbled by the opportunity to serve you."

Elections traditionally serve as a referendum on the officeholder, but Emanuel was effective at turning the tables on Garcia. The mayor painted the challenger as making costly promises and questioned whether Garcia had the credentials to lead a city facing enormous financial problems. The tactic also was a way to deflect attention from Emanuel's own controversial decisions and abrasive style that marked his first term.

Left unsaid by the mayor was that his financial plans count on quick help from Springfield, an approach that has proved politically difficult in the past. That reliance on a state government bailout is likely to be even more problematic, given the state's own financial challenges and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's focus on cutting aid to cities.

For an election that followed a weekend of religious holidays and fell during a week when most of the city's schools are out on spring break, turnout approached 40 percent. That exceeded the near-record low of 34 percent in February's first round. Four years ago, turnout was 42 percent for the open-seat contest after the retirement of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Emanuel suffered the national political embarrassment of being forced into the runoff after failing to eclipse 50 percent of the vote against a far lesser known field of four candidates in February. In that race, Emanuel garnered 45.6 percent, while Garcia finished second with 33.5 percent.

After the February election, Emanuel aides privately acknowledged they were not happy with the campaign's ground game. The mayor largely relied on the ward organizations of supportive aldermen and a host of trade unions, including plumbers, pipe fitters, laborers, painters and operating engineers as well as the hospitality workers and firefighters unions.

Garcia leaned heavily on the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union to turn out the vote. His goal was to win over those who voted for someone other than Emanuel in February.

But after spending weeks courting the city's black voters, Garcia had trouble connecting well enough to make a difference. Emanuel held a lead in all of the city's 18 African-American-majority wards and in all but one of the majority-white wards.

Garcia maintained a lead in 12 of the city's 13 majority-Latino wards, the exception being the Southwest Side 13th Ward run by powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, where Emanuel racked up a big margin.

Tuesday's balloting came after Emanuel spent the runoff campaign doubling down on his strategy to soften his image with Chicago's voters.

In his first commercial of the runoff, Emanuel offered an apology of sorts to voters, saying he heard their message but stopping short of saying what he did wrong.

"They say your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. I'm living proof of that. I can rub people the wrong way or talk when I should listen. I own that," Emanuel said in the ad.

In the closing TV spot of his campaign, Emanuel was even more direct.

"Chicago's a great city, but we can do even better," the mayor said in the ad, before pointing a finger at his chest. "And yeah, I hear ya. So can I."

All told, Emanuel raised about $23.6 million compared with a little more than $6 million for Garcia. That allowed Emanuel to get on the air quickly after the first round of balloting to define Garcia for voters before the challenger had a chance to define himself and capitalize on the momentum generated by forcing the mayor into a runoff.

About an hour after Emanuel wrapped up his victory speech, his campaign reported another $800,000 in contributions, including $300,000 from close confidant and wealthy finance executive Michael Sacks and his wife, Cari. In addition, the Emanuel-aligned Chicago Forward super political action committee reported another $200,000 from the couple Tuesday, increasing their total contribution to $1.9 million to that committee alone. The super PAC spent $2.6 million on the mayor's race.

The mayor ran a nonstop stream of TV ads since November, more than 20 different spots that aired more than 7,000 times. For the runoff, Emanuel ran more than 2,000 ads on Chicago TV stations, double Garcia's total.

"How much did he spend? Do the math. How much per vote?" said 22nd Ward Ald. Ric Munoz, one of just two of the city's 50 aldermen to publicly back Garcia. "With unlimited resources like that, it's almost impossible."

Garcia aired ads in which he criticized Emanuel for his decision to close 50 neighborhood schools and for presiding over a spike in shootings and homicides. The challenger closed his campaign with an ad that sought to convey an air of excitement around his candidacy.

"People aren't asking for much. Just a little. For our families to be a little more secure, our streets a little safer, our schools a little better. It's not too much to ask, but nobody's listening," Garcia said in the commercial. "It's like there's one Chicago for the powerful and another one for the rest of us. It doesn't have to be this way. We can change Chicago."

Garcia also received an assist from the SEIU, which aired an attack ad against Emanuel that slammed the mayor for what it contended was looking out for the city's downtown and the wealthy at expense of the city's neighborhoods. Chicago Forward, the Emanuel-aligned super PAC, aired attack ads against Garcia that alleged the challenger would raise taxes dramatically if elected, citing the various promises he'd made on the campaign trail.

A little more than six months ago, Garcia wasn't even considering running for mayor.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis had started raising money and preparing a bid to challenge Emanuel until she was diagnosed with brain cancer in October. In the wake of her illness, Lewis recruited Garcia to run and the CTU and its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, have been among the top contributors to his campaign.

With the time for lobbing attacks over, Emanuel on Tuesday night sought to address Garcia's message that it was time Chicago's mayor put the city's neighborhoods first.

"We are the city that works and that means it has to work for everyone, in every neighborhood in every part of the city of Chicago. And in an era of hard choices, I can't promise everybody will be pleased with every decision, but the challenges we face, we face as one community, one city, one voice where every voice counts," Emanuel said. "Make no mistakes, the challenges we face were not campaign talking points. The decisions we make over the next four years will determine what Chicago looks like over the next 40 years."

With a second term now secured, the attention will turn to whether Emanuel softens his style of running the city.

As the mayor had lunch Tuesday afternoon at Manny's, an iconic political hangout in the South Loop, close friend and political strategist David Axelrod talked about the importance of Emanuel airing the TV ads in which he alluded to voter frustration and admitted he could do better.

"I think it was important for people to hear it, but I think it's also important for him to act on it. I don't think that the message of those ads should end at 7 o'clock on election night," said Axelrod, a former White House senior adviser and campaign strategist to President Barack Obama. "For his success in the next four years, he needs to take to heart the message that voters were sending. I don't think they wanted him not to be the mayor, but they wanted him to be a more inclusive mayor. And he'd be foolish not to take that to heart."

A few minutes later, after finishing a salad and bowl of matzo ball soup, Emanuel was asked what he learned from the runoff and whether he would, in fact, be a more inclusive mayor in his second term.

Emanuel responded by confidently saying the feedback he'd gotten from voters during the campaign would serve as his "North Star." Asked by the Tribune if that meant he would take a different approach to running the city, Emanuel instead deflected the question by telling the reporter: "You'll evaluate that, and my guess is you'll tell me on a 24-hour basis."

Pressed again on whether he had heard the voters and would change his often brusque style, Emanuel responded with just one word:

"Yeah."

Chicago Tribune's Cynthia Dizikes, Juan Perez Jr. and John Chase contributed.

bruthhart@tribpub.com

rap30@aol.com

Lady Gaga hosting fundraiser at SoulCycle in Old Town

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The Born This Way Foundation is giving Lady Gaga fans the opportunity to meet the world famous pop star in Chicago, but they're going to have to sweat for it.

Gaga is scheduled to host a fundraiser for her foundation on April 21 at yet-to-open indoor cycling studio SoulCycle in Old Town. Participants will ride alongside Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta as they raise money for their youth-focused foundation. The cost is $1,000 per bike and $2,500 for the bikes right next to the "Bad Romance" singer.

Because her fiance Taylor Kinney films NBC's "Chicago Fire" in Chicago, Gaga spends plenty of time here (she's been spotted at Reform Chicago pilates studio in River North and Bikram Yoga River North studio, in case you're wondering about her fitness). Gaga and Kinney unexpectedly took part in this year's Polar Plunge in Lake Michigan, which raises money for the Special Olympics.

Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation benefit

When: 7:30 p.m. April 21
Where: SoulCycle; 1225 N Wells Street
Tickets: $1,000 per bike, $2,500 for bike next to Gaga; soulcyclebornthisway.eventbrite.com

 

DirecTV ends ad campaign with Rob Lowe

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Many television viewers know by now that actor Rob Lowe has DirecTV, and his alter egos - an array of neurotic losers, scary loners and outright degenerates - have cable.

DirecTV has ended the popular and highly effective ad campaign, moving on to a new series of spots last weekend that feature Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model Hannah Davis and a talking horse. That's sad news for fans of Lowe's ads, but perhaps good timing for the El Segundo satellite TV provider.

On Tuesday, the National Advertising Division, a unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that reviews ads for truthfulness and accuracy, sided with a number of complaints about the Lowe ads from cable company Comcast. The group ruled that DirecTV should discontinue using a number of claims made in the campaign.

The NAD's recommendations included scrapping Lowe's signature line: "Don't be like this me. Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV." The line, the group said, "conveyed a comparative and unsupported superiority message." The NAD also said there was no evidence to back up the claims that DirecTV had greater signal reliability, shorter customer service wait times and better picture and sound quality than cable.

Companies use the NAD to get a hearing on advertising claims they believe are unfair without resorting to litigation. If a company does not comply with a NAD recommendation, the case can be referred to the Federal Trade Commission.

DirecTV said in a statement that it would appeal the NAD's findings, adding that the company "continues to believe that the various Rob Lowe advertisements are so outlandish and exaggerated that no reasonable consumer would believe that the statements being made by the alter ego characters are comparative or need to be substantiated."

The humorous but aggressive approach with Lowe and the ensuing complaint demonstrates how brutal the battle for pay TV customers has become with the rise of cable and satellite cord-cutters who get their video content online.

"The category is not growing," said Jon Gieselman, DirecTV's senior vice president of marketing. "People are leaving pay TV. It's a share shifting challenge. We're trying to steal one another's customers."

Data show that the campaign's message was spot-on. In the third quarter of 2014, DirecTV lost 28,000 subscribers. In the following quarter, when the campaign started its run, the company gained 149,000 subscribers. The figure was a steep increase from the 93,000 who signed up in the fourth quarter of 2013.

In an age when half of all TV households have the ability to zip through commercials on their DVRs, Lowe's DirecTV spots resonated with viewers. They've run for free during the actor's TV talk show appearances. TV crews and magazines have gone behind the scenes to watch the makeup ritual that turns him into the depressing or disreputable cable-subscribing Rob Lowe he doesn't want you to be.

The first series of ads with Lowe show the Rob Lowe who subscribes to DirecTV describing the attributes of the service in glamorous, sleek settings. Those scenes alternate with his unappealing characters who have cable - Super Creepy Rob Lowe, Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe, who is unable to open a jar of mayonnaise, and a Broken-down Less Attractive Rob Lowe, who forlornly notes that cable "has pictures - and sound."

When the two Rob Lowes appear together on screen at the end of each spot, the real one says the signature line that the NAD deemed supportable.

One of Lowe's characters generated a well-publicized protest from the International Paruresis Assn. The group expressed its dismay that Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe is shown standing at a men's room urinal unable to relieve himself because there are other people around.

DirecTV declined the organization's demand to pull the spot, which it believed was insensitive to those who suffer from such an affliction.

The ads also inspired one of the most viewed Internet memes after Super Bowl XLIX, showing Lowe's face on the body of losing Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. It read: "I'm incredibly stupid Rob Lowe, I have the best running back in the NFL, but I passed the ball from the 1, and I have cable."

Angeline Close, an associate professor at the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas, said Lowe's stunning transformations are not only funny, but probably jolted consumers into considering the switch from cable to DirecTV.

"When you can shock people like that, it opens up your mind and you're more amenable to being persuaded by the message," she said.

Gieselman said the spots worked so well in the fall that ad agency Grey was commissioned to create five more with new Lowe characters - including Total Deadbeat Rob Lowe, who saves money by having surgery in a motel room - so they could continue running in the first quarter. But he added that the company planned to move to a new creative approach before the NAD ruling on Comcast's complaint, which was filed three months ago.

"We try to retire campaigns at their peak - before they jump the shark," Gieselman said.

Gieselman added that it's possible Lowe could return to DirecTV ads in the future. "We've talked with Rob about doing something else in the future," he said. "He loves the campaign. He's completely gotten into the characters."

MORE FROM ENTERTAINMENT:

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Cops release images of teens who snatched cellphones on CTA Green Line

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Police released images Wednesday morning of a group of teens accused of snatching cellphones on trains on the CTA Green Line.

According to a community alert, the victims were seated near the doors as the train approached the Lake and Pulaski station. When the doors opened, someone grabbed the victims' phones from their hands and fled out the doors, police said.

The incident happened twice on April 2, at 8:50 a.m. and 7:45 p.m., police said.

At least two teens who were involved are described as black and 14 to 16 years old. They are between 5 feet 1 inch to 3 inches tall and weigh 100 to 130 pounds. A third teen is to believed to be about 18 years old and was wearing all black during the time of the robberies.

Anyone with information about the incidents should contact Area North detectives at 312-744-8263.

TargetExpress coming to Streeterville in October

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TargetExpress plans to make its Chicago debut in October in the former Fox & Obel space in Streeterville, one of eight smaller-format stores the company is opening this year to offer quick-trip convenience to city shoppers.

The 24,000-square-foot shop at 401 E. Illinois St., less than one-fifth the size of a traditional Target, will house a Starbucks and carry merchandise geared toward neighborhood shoppers swinging by as they walk or bike home from work, Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker said .

That will include a pharmacy, grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, personal care and beauty products in smaller package sizes, and home items useful to apartment and condo dwellers, such as storage units.

While CityTarget's 2012 opening on State Street in downtown Chicago kicked off the brand's foray into smaller urban formats, that 124,000-square-foot store is far larger than the new Express shops, which aim to offer a curated assortment reflecting the neighborhood's needs.

"We've been really asking the guests for their feedback about what they're loving or what they want to see more of," Welker said.

In response to input from Streeterville shoppers, Chicago's store will emphasize men's and women's apparel, mostly from Target-owned brands such as Mossimo and Merona that will be placed prominently at the front of the store, Welker said. TargetExpress shops elsewhere also added more apparel after customers asked for it.

The Chicago shop also will feature local sports team apparel, Target Mobile representatives who can sign up shoppers for cellphone plans, self-checkout lanes and will allow online shoppers to have purchases shipped to the store for free.

Target, which ended the fiscal year with 1,790 stores, opened its first Express store in July in its hometown of Minneapolis and last month opened two more, one in downtown San Francisco and the other in Berkeley, Calif. Its small-format openings represent more than half of the 15 store launches Target has planned this year.

"Small format is the wave of the future," said Mike Moriarty, a partner in the retail practice at consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

Behind the wave are a trend toward city living and changes in shopper behavior. As the population ages, and as single people stay single longer, more shoppers are opting to buy fewer things more often from businesses close to home rather than hop in the car, walk across a parking lot and navigate a maze of aisles.

Wal-Mart last year opened 235 small-format stores. Though it once distinguished between larger Neighborhood Markets, which average 42,000 square feet, and Express stores, which at up to 15,000 square feet are less than one-tenth the size of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, it now brands all of its small stores Neighborhood Markets. While supercenters still dominate Wal-Mart's fleet of 4,516 stores, the smaller formats, which numbered 639 at the end of the fiscal year, are growing at the fastest rate.

Chicago has eight Neighborhood Markets.

Logistically, going small can be a tough transition for the retail giants, as less shelving space and smaller stock rooms require more frequent deliveries that often take longer as trucks navigate city streets, Moriarty said. But there are also cultural hurdles as people become accustomed to using them in a different way.

"I think the challenge for a TargetExpress is how do you get yourself into people's daily lives, how do you become part of the sequence of events," Moriarty said.

While the smaller stores would seem to encroach on territory occupied by 7-Eleven and Walgreens, habit and brand loyalty are strong triggers in the world of convenience stores and their business likely won't suffer as shoppers stick to their familiar routes, said Sharon Love, CEO of retail consultancy TPN.

The move to urban centers with more customized offerings, Love said, reflects that mass merchants are embracing a "local relevancy strategy" that may also guide edits to their big-box formats.

"The interesting part of this is that the retailers are really listening, and the notion that shoppers and customers are in control is true now more than ever," she said.

aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com

Twitter @alexiaer

Kate Upton was surprised -- and angry -- when Cat Daddy video came out

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Seems Kate Upton wasn't cool with the release of that video of her dancing.

No, not the 2011 video where she was captured doing the Dougie at an L.A. Clippers game and wound up being introduced to the part of the world that really, really likes to see a hot woman jiggle. Upton was ticked off about the video Terry Richardson posted in 2012 that had her doing the Cat Daddy in a teeny string bikini.

And she says she let Richardson know.

"I was like, 'That was disrespectful, you could have told me!,'" she tells British Vogue, which noted that she was horrified at the time because the video had been shot for fun during a break in a photo shoot and to her knowledge was not for publication. Because nobody ever posts provocative images of beautiful women on the Internet.

Richardson put the video on his blog and YouTube channel, and the Cat Daddy was out of the bag. The video made even more headlines in the midst of its viral explosion when it was briefly taken down by YouTube despite its lack of bannable nudity. And while the Internet never forgets, Upton at least can forgive.

"Now, obviously, it's fine," she said. 

Gee, ya think?

Yup, those oodles of undulating Upton in that video definitely left a mark on her career -- a positive one -- especially coming as it did in close proximity to her first Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover.

By the end of 2014, she was named People's sexiest woman. She has nearly 2 million Twitter followers, has a movie credit in the can with another on the way, has a boyfriend who's a professional baseball player and could line a very sexy hallway if she framed her Sports Illustratedswimsuitefforts.

Richardson, however, isn't taking any credit for her fame.

"She was born a star," he tells the magazine.

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.

Meet Matt Nadeshot, `Call of Duty's' most famous player

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Matt "Nadeshot" Haag strolled past the two teams virtually shooting each other on the main stage without peering up from his cellphone. More than 2,000 fans were packed into the stands to watch the "Call of Duty" World Championship on Sunday in L.A., but many thousands more tuned in to the new video app Periscope just to watch Nadeshot give a guided walking tour of the facilities.

"Come check this out," he said while holding his phone in view of the event's championship trophy.

Not even losing can keep Nadeshot down. He and his Chicago-based OpTic Gaming team finished a disappointing seventh place at the professional "Call of Duty" version of the Super Bowl, but he remains by far the electronic sport's biggest star. The proof is in the numbers: Nadeshot recently claimed his 1 millionth Twitter follower, and he boasts 1.7 million YouTube subscribers and 174 million video views.

Nadeshot's meteoric rise is part of an overall trend toward booming viewership for video game spectating. Streaming video site Twitch, which exclusively broadcasts gaming, was bought by Amazon for nearly $1 billion last year. Twitch now averages more viewers than a cable channel such as CNN.

That's meant an amazing living for the 22-year-old, who a few years ago was working at a McDonald's in Chicago's near Southwest suburbs. Despite his team's lackluster performance at worlds, Nadeshot is on track to earn almost $1 million over the past year for what mostly amounts to playing a lot of video games with his friends.

But his career isn't just the stuff of teenage dreams. Anonymous pranksters have called in to 911 bogus reports of violence, prompting authorities to send SWAT teams to Nadeshot's house half a dozen times in the past few years. The social media vitriol is constant. After tweeting a lament of OpTic's loss Saturday, Nadeshot received hundreds of angry and crude replies to go along with expressions of support from fans. ("Nadeshot Reads Mean Tweets would be the greatest video of all time after this weekend," he later posted.)

Privacy is nearly an alien concept for Nadeshot, who broadcasts his life for hours a day through constant Twitter and Facebook updates and video uploads of his "Call of Duty" practices. Few aspects of his daily life aren't available in some form online; it could be argued that he's the real-life version of Jim Carrey's character from "The Truman Show."

"It's an aspect of my life that I do lie in bed and think about sometimes. It's kind of a weird reality that just about everything I do is in the public eye, but I really just have to block it out and not really think about it," Nadeshot said.

Still, it's a worthy tradeoff."I'm a firm believer in the fact that I was in the right place at the right time for this," he said.

"I'm so super grateful for what I have."

Ryan Smith is a RedEye special contributor.

 

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Tsarnaev guilty on all charges in Boston Marathon bombing

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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on all charges Wednesday in the Boston Marathon bombing by a jury that will now decide whether the 21-year-old should be executed or shown mercy for what his lawyer says was a crime masterminded by his big brother.

The former college student stood with his hands folded, fidgeted and looked down at the defense table in federal court as he listened to the word "guilty" recited on all 30 counts against him, including conspiracy and deadly use of a weapon of mass destruction. Seventeen of those counts are punishable by death.

The verdict, reached after a day and a half of deliberations, was practically a foregone conclusion, given his lawyer's startling admission at the trial's outset that Tsarnaev carried out the terror attack with his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan.

The defense strategy is to try to save Tsarnaev's life in the upcoming penalty phase by arguing he fell under Tamerlan's evil influence.

The two shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that exploded near the finish line on April 15, 2013, killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 other people, turning the traditionally celebratory home stretch of the world-famous race into a scene of carnage and putting the city on edge for days.

Tsarnaev was found responsible not only for those deaths but for the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was gunned down days later during the brothers' getaway attempt.

"It's not a happy occasion, but it's something," said Karen Brassard, who suffered shrapnel wounds on her legs and attended the trial. "One more step behind us."

She said Tsarnaev appeared "arrogant" and uninterested during the trial, and she wasn't surprised when she saw no remorse on his face as the verdicts were read. She refused to say whether she believes he deserves the death penalty, but she rejected the defense argument that he was simply following his brother's lead.

"He was in college. He was a grown man who knew what the consequences would be," Brassard said. "I believe he was 'all in' with the brother."

Tsarnaev's lawyers left the courthouse without comment.

In the penalty phase, which could begin as early as Monday, the jury will hear evidence on whether he should get the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Defense attorney Judy Clarke argued at trial that Tsarnaev was led astray by his radicalized brother, telling the jury: "If not for Tamerlan, it would not have happened." She repeatedly referred to Dzhokhar - then 19 - as a "kid" and a "teenager."

Prosecutors, however, portrayed the brothers - ethnic Chechens who moved to the United States from Russia more than a decade ago - as full partners in a brutal and coldblooded plan to punish the U.S. for its wars in Muslim countries. Jihadist writings, lectures and videos were found on both their computers, though the defense argued that Tamerlan downloaded the material and sent it to his brother.

Tamerlan, 26, died when he was shot by police and run over by his brother during a chaotic getaway attempt days after the bombing.

The government called 92 witnesses over 15 days, painting a hellish scene of torn-off limbs, blood-spattered pavement, ghastly screams and the smell of sulfur and burned hair.

Survivors gave heartbreaking testimony about losing legs in the blasts or watching people die. The father of 8-year-old Martin Richard described making the agonizing decision to leave his mortally wounded son so he could get help for his 6-year-old daughter, whose leg had been blown off.

In the courtroom Wednesday, Denise Richard, the boy's mother, wiped tears from her face after the verdict. The youngster's father, Bill Richard, embraced one of the prosecutors.

In Russia, Tsarnaev's father, Anzor Tsarnaev, told The Associated Press in recent days that he would have no comment.

The others killed in the bombing were Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Chinese graduate student at Boston University, and Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager. MIT Officer Sean Collier was shot to death at close range days later.

In a statement, Collier's family welcomed the verdict and added: "The strength and bond that everyone has shown during these last two years proves that if these terrorists thought that they would somehow strike fear in the hearts of people, they monumentally failed."

Some of the most damning evidence at the trial included video showing Tsarnaev planting a backpack containing one of the bombs near where the 8-year-old boy was standing, and a confession scrawled inside the dry-docked boat where a wounded and bleeding Tsarnaev was captured days after the tragedy.

"Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop," he wrote.

Tsarnaev's lawyers barely cross-examined the government's witnesses and called just four people to the stand over less than two days, all in an effort to portray the older brother as the guiding force in the plot.

According to defense testimony, phone records showed Dzhokhar was at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth while his brother was buying bomb components, including pressure cookers and BBs. Tamerlan's computer showed search terms such as "detonator" and "transmitter and receiver," while Dzhokhar was largely spending time on Facebook and other social media sites. And Tamerlan's fingerprints, but not Dzhokhar's, were found on pieces of the two bombs.

Clarke is one of the nation's foremost death-penalty specialists and an expert at keeping her clients off death row. She saved the lives of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman who drowned her two children in a lake in 1994.

Tsarnaev's lawyers tried repeatedly to get the trial moved out of Boston because of the heavy publicity and the widespread trauma. But opposition to capital punishment is strong in Massachusetts, which abolished its state death penalty in 1984, and some polls have suggested a majority of Bostonians do not want to see Tsarnaev sentenced to die.

The 12-member jury must be unanimous for Tsarnaev to receive a death sentence; otherwise the penalty will be life behind bars.

During the penalty phase, Tsarnaev's lawyers will present so-called mitigating evidence to try to save his life. That could include evidence about his family, his relationship with his brother, and his childhood in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and later in the volatile Dagestan region of Russia.

Prosecutors will present so-called aggravating factors in support of the death penalty, including the killing of a child and the targeting of the marathon because of the potential for maximum bloodshed.

Dan Collins, a former federal prosecutor who handled the case against a suspect in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, said Massachusetts' history of opposition to capital punishment will have no bearing on the jury's decision about Tsarnaev's fate.

"When you ask people their opinion of the death penalty, there are a number who say it should only be reserved for the horrific cases," he said. "Here you have what is one of the most horrific acts of terrorism on U.S. soil in American history, so if you are going to reserve the death penalty for the worst of the worse, this is it."

Liz Norden, the mother of two sons who lost parts of their legs in the bombing, said death would be the appropriate punishment: "I don't understand how anyone could have done what he did."

Associated Press

Hail starts falling in Chicago as dangerous storms arrive

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Hail and rain started blanketing parts of Chicago Wednesday evening as a wave of severe storms that could produce hail and damaging winds, possibly some tornadoes, moves through much of the Midwest, Wednesday evening through Thursday.

As of 11 p.m., pea-to-dime-sized hail began falling in parts of the North Side as a couple of thunderstorm cells developed over the city, according to the National Weather Service.

The storms will continue to grow across northwest Illinois through the night and into Thursday. In isolated areas, some hail may reach up to 2 inches in diameter, according to the National Weather Service.

While small pea- and dime-sized hail doesn't cause much damage, hail bigger than an inch in size could cause some damage to property exposed to the weather, said Mark Ratzer, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service.

The biggest thunderstorms are expected to arrive Thursday afternoon and evening, Ratzer said.

In addition to hail, tornadoes are possible throughout northwest Illinois, including Chicago area, he said.

The highest chance of tornadoes extended from the Kansas-Oklahoma border south of Wichita, Kan., to the St. Louis area - with storms forming in the afternoon and early evening.

The weather will worsen Thursday, with humidity, an approaching cold front and the jet stream all possibly feeding dangerous storms from the Arkansas-Missouri border to southern Wisconsin to central Indiana. Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis are all in their path.

"By Thursday, it looks like all those ingredients come together. ... You can really blow up some big storms," said Greg Carbin, the warning coordination meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center.

"Super cell" thunderstorms were likely to produce large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes during the afternoon and evening Thursday when a cold front approaches from the west.  The threat of severe storms will end later Thursday evening as the front moves east.

The National Weather Service said the severity of the storms depended on "all of the ingredients" coming together.

"Even if just one ingredient fails to materialize, the threat decreases substantially," the weather service said in an advisory. "Early indications are that many of the ingredients for a significant outbreak of severe thunderstorms could be in place Thursday and later forecasts and outlooks should be closely monitored."

Spike Lee to shoot a movie in Chicago called 'Chiraq'

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Spike Lee, who comes to town later this month as part of the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMfest), plans to shoot his next feature film here, as well. 

As reported by The Wrap, the project is called "Chiraq" and Lee is making it for Amazon Studios:

"The Oscar-nominated filmmaker is courting Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common and Kanye West for the ensemble cast of 'Chiraq,' multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap."

Three of those four names (minus Jackson) are Chicago-area natives.

The Tribune independently confirmed details of the Wrap's report.

The city has been busy juggling a number of TV shows, but 2014 was a considerably slower year for films. "Chiraq" would be the first high-profile movie to film in Chicago this year.

Lee was in town back in January, apparently conducting research with the help of St. Sabina pastor Rev. Michael Pfleger. 

"Thanks to Director/Actor Spike Lee," Pfleger wrote on his Facebook page, "who spent the day at St. Sabina yesterday talking and interviewing....People who cover the violence, Principals who deal with violence in and around their schools, Brothers from the Blocks who live in it every day and Parents who have lost their children to Violence.....He spent the day from early morning till late in the night....listening and asking questions to try and get a deeper understanding of the plague of violence. Thanks Spike for caring and wanting to understand."

The Wrap did not receive confirmation of the project from any of the principals involved.

The movie's title is a controversial moniker that compares the city's gun violence and danger level to that of the war zone in Iraq.

Lee is set to be here April 18 at City Winery to talk about his career. The 8 p.m. show is sold out but tickets are available for the 10:30 p.m. Go here for more information.

nmetz@tribpub.com

Twitter @NinaMetzNews

Taylor Swift: 'My mom has been diagnosed with cancer'

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Taylor Swift's mom, Andrea Swift, has cancer, the pop star revealed Thursday in "an update I wish I wasn't giving you" on her usually upbeat and quirky Tumblr page, shared on Twitter with a simple "Just so you know" introduction.

"For Christmas this year, I asked my mom that one of her gifts to me be her going to the doctor to get screened for any health issues, just to ease some worries of mine. She agreed, and went in to get checked," TSwift explained before delivering the news.

"I'd like to keep the details of her condition and treatment plans private, but she wanted you to know."

This life event was different for her than most, the "Blank Space" singer said, in that she usually chooses to process things and write about them and eventually the world hears about what's gone on with her -- but she decided to go public with this news in a timely manner.

Noting that her mother, 57, won't be at as many concerts in the days to come because she has an "important battle to fight," the 25-year-old also said her mom "wanted you to know because your parents may be too busy juggling everything they've got going on to go to the doctor, and maybe you reminding them to go get checked for cancer could possibly lead to an early diagnosis and an easier battle Or peace of mind in knowing that they're healthy and there's nothing to worry about."

Response on Twitter, under the #PrayForMamaSwift hashtag, was emotional and supportive, with some fans saying they would be disappointed, of course, but would understand if their idol canceled shows to be with her mom.

"I hope and pray," Taylor wrote, "that you never get news like this."

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.

 

On 'Daily Show,' Stewart calls out Chicago for re-electing Emanuel

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"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart took Chicago to the woodshed Wednesday night for re-electing Rahm Emanuel to a second term as mayor.

"Chicago, congratulations, you Rolling Stoned that (expletive)," Stewart said of Emanuel's win, in an apparent reference to Rolling Stone magazine's badly bungled, since discredited article about a campus rape.

Stewart noted Emanuel's "terrible record and a universally recognized abrasive personality," and that he faced challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who Stewart called "America's fourth most famous Chuy." He showed a graphic with pictures of Garcia, the Chewbacca character from "Star Wars," chewy granola bars and Chuy, the sidekick from the TV show "Chelsea Lately."

After running news clips about Chicago's continued financial problems and stubbornly high violent crime under Emanuel's watch, Stewart said, "things are looking up, and by things, I mean the amount of money they don't have, and crime."

Stewart also showed clips from the two mea culpa campaign ads Emanuel ran before the election, comparing them with the Domino's Pizza ads in which the company admitted its pizzas weren't very good and promised to do better.

The host pointed to Chicago's history of "blatant crimes against humanity" while a graphic of deep-dish pizza materialized. That's a reference to the 2013 pizza feud that Stewart ignited after New York's One World Trade Center was named the tallest building in the country, knocking Chicago's Willis Tower to No. 2.

Emanuel got into the act on the pizza fight, sending Stewart two deep-dish pizzas with anchovies in a nod to the dead fish he once sent to a pollster.

jebyrne@tribpub.com

Cue the Journey: CSN's Sox documentary by the numbers

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On paper, the oft-quoted "Back to the Future Part II" clip in which the Cubs win the World Series is more likely to become reality for the White Sox. Although the South Siders aren't a conventional favorite to win the whole thing, their talent level suggests they've got the goods to make a run at it.

Much like the 2005 Sox, the memories of which will be rekindled at 7 p.m. Sunday. That's when Comcast SportsNet Chicago will premiere "Believe," a 90-minute documentary showcasing the first Sox team to win the title in 88 years, and the only one since.

RedEye spoke with CSN producers Sarah Lauch and Ryan McGuffey about the scope of the project and the surprises it unveiled.

"Even though on the surface this is centered around the world championship, it's about the stories behind it," Lauch said. "[Such as] the mound meetings that you don't know what was said, when Duque [pitcher Orlando Hernandez] was talking to [catcher] A.J. [Pierzynski] during [Game 3 of the ALDS]. That's the kind of stuff, the little stories that make up this big story, and the things people forget."

 

14 hours

Amount of interviews CSN filmed for the movie. Don't expect tears, though.

"I thought we had [outfielder Aaron] Rowand and I thought we had [infielder Geoff] Blum," McGuffey said. "And [manager] Ozzie [Guillen], there were times he actually talked about crying. There were a couple guys who welled up, but no one actually cried.

 

350,000-plus

Estimated number of people who attended the victory parade. McGuffey said the film aims in part to show how much the team appreciated the treatment it received.

"The parade was kind of really the first time that had been done [since the 1985 Bears]," he said. "It kind of paved the way for the Blackhawks I was surprised how many fans were there. That's an eye-opening experience, and I think the team when they talk about this, they looked around and saw people who were genuinely appreciative, the way the played and what they did that season."

 

40 minutes

Length of third baseman Joe Crede's interview.

"He wasn't the best interview when he was a player," McGuffey said. "But we sat down with him for 40 minutes, and I thought it was going to be a 10-minute interview. He would laugh and show you personality. I was blown away."

 

50 minutes

Length of Geoff Blum's interview; he belted the 14th-inning home run that clinched Game 3 of the World Series.

"[McGuffey's] like, 'Yeah, I sat down with him for like 50 minutes,'" Lauch said. "And I'm like, 'Dude, we need him for [only] one sound byte!' But I listened to the interview and I'm like, 'Oh my God, he's amazing.' There's so much from Blum that we don't have room for in the show but will be on the Web.

"After his home run, he blew a kiss into the air into the stands where his wife should have been sitting. Because they're from Houston originally [where Game 3 was played], she was down in the wives' lounge and missed the whole home run."

 

1 hour, 45 minutes

Length of manager Ozzie Guillen's interview.

"He just doesn't leave anything out," McGuffey said. " I think by him watching the trailer it gave him a refresher. Before he sat down he was like, 'Yeah, I don't remember this stuff like you do.' And his first answer was like 11 minutes. I kind of looked to our camera guy at the time and [remember] thinking we're going to be here awhile."

New food and drink at Wrigley and U.S. Cellular fields

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Sure, peanuts and Cracker Jack are classic, but Chicago's ballparks-concessions courtesy of Levy Restaurants at both fields-have some new offerings in the food and drink departments this season.


THE CELL
In Sox country, new menu highlights include beef barbacoa and pork carnitas tacos (section 127), fried pickle chips with chipotle ranch dip (section 110), bacon-avocado grilled cheese with tomato-basil bisque (sections 110 and 544) and waffle fries tossed with garlic sauce and parmesan (also sections 110 and 554). Last year's new debut, bacon on a stick, has been updated with maple glaze (sections 112 and 528) and section 105 will feature a new stand called Comiskey's Confections stocked with desserts, including gluten-free options such as taffy apples, brown butter-sea salt marshmallow squares and creme brulee cheesecake.


WRIGLEY

New eats at the Friendly Confines include an Italian-inspired hoagie named for the Cubs' new manager, Joe Maddon, featuring salami, ham, spicy peppers and white American cheese. A Cuban-inspired pork burger called Da Burger is topped with ham, bacon, swiss cheese, pickles and spicy mustard aioli. Concession stands will also feature a different specialty hot dog each month, starting with April's dog topped with pulled pork, coleslaw and barbecue sauce. Also, be on the look out for a new roaming beverage stand selling four cocktails made with RumChata, a Chicago-based cinnamon-cream liqueur

Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page


The 5 nastiest, most horrifying 'Game of Thrones' deaths

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I tell my friends I love "Game of Thrones" for its sophisticated portrayal of power dynamics in a feudal setting, for the heartbreaking acting and the gorgeous sets and even for the costuming.

This is a lie. I watch it for the gore.

There's something phenomenally satisfying about watching (fictional) gruesome [bleep] from a safe distance; you can test your own limits while sitting on the couch. My husband suspects I'm a sociopath. Maybe I am, but hey, at least I'm a sociopath with an HBO subscription. And that makes me uniquely qualified to write a list of the Top 5 best gory deaths in "Game of Thrones." Spoilers ahead (it is known).

5. The golden crown

Weirdly, there wasn't a lot of visible grossness when Khal Drogo poured molten gold all over Viserys Targaryen, Lord of the Jagoffs. The end result is even kind of beautiful, in a "creepy installation at the Modern Wing" way. What really turns your stomach here is the sound design-the subtle ssssssssizzle as the gold burns his skin, and then the metallic "thunk" when his head hits the floor. I can't even think of it without making the D: face.

4. Knife to the uterus

The Red Wedding had more than its share of blood and guts, but stabbing a pregnant woman in the belly over and over? That's on a whole other level. What, they couldn't have just slit poor Talisa's throat and been done with it? The Robb marriage storyline was pretty weak sauce, but even she didn't deserve to go like that.

3. Poor Ros

Westeros' happiest hooker ends up hung like a piece of meat and shot with King Joffrey's crossbow-several times over. Gee, guys, do you think maybe this show's characters have a problem with women???

2. Rat bucket

The only reason-the ONLY reason-this isn't at the top of the list is because most of it happens off-screen. Otherwise, nothing could beat the utter disgusting genius of death by rat bucket. Only someone truly sick could come up with torture device like this: Trap a rat in a bucket. Strap the bucket to your victim's torso. Heat up the bottom of the bucket so the rat has nowhere to escape but ... you know. By the end, even I was ready to tell the Lannisters all my secrets.

1. The head pop

I shan't continue. If you've seen the show, you know what I mean. Pop. My editor made me watch it all over again to write this column, and I will never forgive her.

Megan Crepeau is a RedEye reporter. She likes to think that in Westeros she would be a beautiful, powerful Tyrell, but if we're being honest she'd probably end up some kind of toothless peasant.

Ikea rolls out vegan meatballs today

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If you don't eat meat and you shop at IKEA until now you've been missing out on one of the great pleasures of visiting the behemoth Swedish box store. Yes, we're talking about the Swedish meatballs.

But no longer. Your cries have been answered.

Starting Thursday, IKEA rolled out vegan meatballs at its U.S. stores. Called GRÖNSAKSBULLAR, 10 balls are $4.49. And they're not just meat-free, they're also gluten-free. There are only veggies - including kale! - in these balls.

IKEA says it is introducing the balls to lower its carbon footprint and be more environmental. This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that horse was found in the meatballs in 2013?

Also in the pipeline: chicken balls called KYCKLINGBULLAR. They will be available on April 27.

A staple in both the cafeteria and its frozen foods section, Ikea sold a billion meatballs last year, according to the Wall Street Journal

City: Chicago River discoloration caused by rust and dirt - not sewage

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City officials said the rusty plume of the Chicago River east of the Michigan Avenue Bridge on Thursday was likely a mix of rust and dirt flushed into the river by a surge of storm runoff.

The discoloration wasn't caused by waste or raw sewage, according to Pete Scales, spokesman from the city's Department of Water Management.

City inspectors surveyed the site including a 96-inch-wide old brick sewer structure - complete with metal gates - that catches excess rain water that the sewers can't handle, he said. The rust and dirt from inside got washed into the river thanks to the heavy rainfall, he said.

"With this morning's heavy rain, the first significant downpour of the season, the plume was likely caused by some runoff from that rain outlet into the river," Scales said in an email.  

The city is working with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District "to analyze some water samples taken from the river to further determine the source of the rust-colored plume," Scales said.

Weekend: Eat. Drink. Do.

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'Game of Thrones' events, an art sale and more weekend things to do in Chicago April 10-12.

EAT

'Game of Thrones' Wild Boar Dinner

Frontier

1072 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-772-4322

Eat like royalty while watching the last three episodes of the HBO show's fourth season to gear up for the fifth season's premiere. The meal includes smoked wild boar, caesar salad with polenta croutons, mac 'n' cheese, succotash and cornbread. Add a glass of glogg or honey mead for $5. 3-6 p.m. Sunday. $30. Tickets: thefrontierchicago.com

Triple S Farms Dinner

Nana

3267 S. Halsted St. 312-929-2486

Executive chef Jeremy Kiens prepares a four-course dinner using pork from the Stewardson, Ill. organic farm. Dishes include pork empanadas with chimichurri sauce and tomatillo- and poblano-braised pork spare ribs with blue corn polenta. 7 p.m. Saturday. $50. Phone reservation required.

The Masters Brunch

The J. Parker

1816 N. Clark St. 312-254-4747

Watch the golf tournament while dining on a brunch buffet from chef Paul Virant and sipping bloody marys and mimosas at this benefit for The First Tee of Greater Chicago. 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. $65. RSVP: themastersbrunch.ambassadorschicago.org

DRINK

Gear Swap and Revolution Brewing Tap Takeover

Schubas Tavern

3159 N. Southport Ave. 773-525-2508

Buy and sell new and used musical instruments and try rare beers from the Chicago brewery including Thee Destroyer double IPA and Wee Gene porter (both $7). The event also features a raffle benefitting Foundations of Music. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. No cover.

White Sox Home Opener Celebration

Fabulous Freddies

701 W. 31st St. 312-808-0147

The Bridgeport spot celebrates the team's 115th season with a meet-and-greet with former player Ron Kittle and $1.15 domestic cans. You can also enter a drawing for a free hot dog the day of every 2015 Sox home game. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday. No cover.

DO

Spring Art Sale (Free!)

School of the Art Institute of Chicago Ballroom

112 S. Michigan Ave. 312-629-6880

Shop photographs, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings, jewelry and fashion accessories made by more than 120 undergraduate and graduate students at the 15th annual event. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Free.

The Northern Stars of Dance Concert

Ruth Page Center for the Arts

1016 N. Dearborn St. 312-337-6543

Students, alumni and faculty from the Northern Illinois University School of Theatre and Dance perform a mix of ballet and contemporary dance pieces. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. $15-$20. Tickets: ruthpage.org/performance-NIU

'Game of Thrones' Dressed to Kill Fashion Show

Masada

2206 N. California Ave. 773-697-8397

See and shop styles inspired by the fantasy show from Purple Vain's spring and summer collection. A fire performance kicks things off. 6-10:30 p.m. Saturday. $20. Tickets: eventbrite.com

REDEYE TIP OF THE DAY

Tickets to see "Once" June 2-7 at Cadillac Palace Theatre go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Tornadoes lash north central Illinois; 1 dead, damage widespread

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A violent storm system threw off tornadoes and left a trail of destruction Thursday night as it swept across a 50-mile swath of north central Illinois.

A 67-year-old woman was killed and at least seven others were hospitalized with injuries in the tiny hamlet of Fairdale, Ill., south of Rockford, according to officials.

Rescue crews worked throughout the night and into Friday morning sifting through the rubble. Speaking to reporters just after midnight, Rockford Fire Department Matthew Knott said every home in Fairdale had been searched twice to ensure no one was missed. Every single home was affected by the storm, officials said, with some crushed down to their foundation and others left standing with no damage except broken windows.

Knott described the twister that touched down in Fairdale at 7:15 p.m. Thursday as a powerful but slow-moving tornado, but its scientific strength was not known early Friday.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said several people left the area before the storm hit, so authorities were still working to locate some residents.

"Fairdale is pretty well destroyed from what I understand," said Les Bellah, village president of nearby Kirkland, Ill., where the Red Cross was helping storm victims.

The worst tornado damage was reported on either side of Interstate 39 near Rochelle, Ill. The storm blew on a northeast track across farms and small towns as it headed toward McHenry County. A dispatcher with the McHenry County Sheriff's Office said the agency received several reports of tornadoes in the area of Woodstock. However, there were no reports of damage.

The storms led Gov. Bruce Rauner to activate the State Incident Response Center in Springfield to ensure that state personnel and equipment were ready to be deployed.

National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi said possibly a series of tornadoes moved northeast from an area west of Rochelle and then toward southeast McHenry County, just west or north of Marengo.

"Preliminary indications based on radar data would suggest a path of 50 miles of intermittent tornado damage, potentially a single track or a couple of tracks," Izzi said.

The weather service later said it believed there were at least two tornadoes based on reports from trained weather spotters.

The deadly tornado left a path of destruction from near Franklin Grove in Lee County to North of Rochelle and Hillcrest into northwest DeKalb County and southern Boone County and lastly to near Harvard in McHenry County, according to the weather service. A second tornado's path stretched from near Rockford Airport into Cherry Valley in Winnebago County and then crossed into Boone County. 

The National Weather Service received reports of several tornadoes, and storm damage survey teams will be deployed Friday to assess the damage and determine exactly how many tornadoes there were, said weather service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio.

Just before 7 p.m., a tornado hit a Crest Foods warehouse in Ashton, Ill., causing the roof to collapse, according to the Franklin Grove Fire Protection District.

A short time later, fire crews from multiple jurisdictions responded to Grubsteakers Restaurant near Illinois Routes 251 and 64 in Rochelle after the building reportedly was hit by a tornado.

About a dozen people were inside the restaurant, and firefighters rescued five people trapped beneath rubble about 8:30 p.m., according to Randy Travis, assistant chief of Oregon Fire Protection District.

"It's pretty much leveled," Travis said of the restaurant.

Several homes in the Rochelle area were seriously damaged, including that of Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, Travis said.

Late Thursday, authorities had blocked off roads into Fairdale, a town of about 200. Siding from homes hung from power lines and trees across the area. Officials said a bus from Northern Illinois University was used to take Fairdale residents to safety. The Rockford Fire Department was assisting in the rescue effort.

Fairdale resident Susan Meyer, 67, said she was upstairs getting ready to watch television when she saw weather reports about what was coming. But she thought the storm was going to the north. A friend called and said it looked serious, so Meyer went outside and laid down a ladder so it wouldn't blow over.

When she went back upstairs, her home's windows exploded behind her, she said.

"I just hunkered down. I figured I was either going to live or I was going to die, so I might as well just stay where I was," she said.

After 30 seconds it was over, and she looked around and saw that her entire upstairs had collapsed into her living room, she said. The north wall of her home also was gone.

"It's by the grace of God that I was in the stairwell," she said.

Her two-story home was more than 100 years old and had just undergone a $50,000 renovation.

"It's gone," she said.

Another resident, Patrick Burgess, 48, also lost his home. Sitting in drenched clothes aboard the NIU bus, Burgess said hail fell before the tornado hit. He saw a cloud start to swirl.

"I looked up and seen the cloud get dark, purple, black, blue," he said.

He and others, including an elderly woman and her grandchild, fled to his basement. Burgess said he lay on top of them as the house was shredded above. He said it was all over in a matter of seconds.

"It wasn't nothing like I heard about on TV," he said.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said many of the people whose homes were destroyed had found shelter with friends and family in the area, but the remainder were being taken to the Kirkland Fire Protection District, where the Red Cross has set up operations.

The weather service said it is believed there were at least two tornadoes. A trained weather spotter saw a tornado touch down Thursday evening near Cherry Valley. Another tornado was spotted moments later near Ashton, south of Rockford. The weather service characterized the tornado as "large and extremely dangerous."

An hour or so after storms hit north central Illinois, most of the activity was in the far northwest suburbs across McHenry County, said Kevin Birk, a meteorologist with the weather service. But by late Thursday, authorities said the potential for a tornado had dissipated.

The weather service will be doing damage assessments Friday to inspect possible touchdown locations and paths of travel and to collect other information.

The tornadoes came at the end of a long day of heavy weather. An earlier storm brought winds of 35 mph and heavy rainfall to the Chicago area. More than 700 flights were canceled Thursday at Chicago's airports, and more than 1,400 were delayed.

The weather service issued a flood warning for the Des Plaines River at Riverside from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. Minor flooding is forecast for Friday evening and expected to subside by Saturday afternoon, according to the warning.

National Weather Service meteorologists reported the touchdown of a weak tornado just north of Peoria about 2:30 p.m., Birk said.

Tornadoes were reported Wednesday and early Thursday in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, but those areas saw minimal damage.

The Tribune's Genevieve Bookwalter and The Associated Press contributed.

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