The Chicago Traveler

As a child, I visited the Chicago Public Library every week, checking out the maximum number of books I was allowed at a time. I’d hunt down any book I hadn’t yet read and browsed the shelves for well over an hour. It wasn’t uncommon to see me tugging my little wagon home, piled high with books.
Nowadays, I don’t visit the CPL as often as I used to. (I still have that old, old library card though!) But thanks to modern technology, when I do need to borrow a book, I don’t have to search high and low among the …read more

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When was the last time you used a typewriter, or saw one for that matter? The last time I used one was over ten years ago, to write up a speech I gave in high school. And even then, it was by choice, as I had other more modern options I could have used. There is a unique joy in the sound of typewriter keys click-clacking. However, in this world of computers, laptops, and smartphones, you’d think it’d be impossible to find a typewriter. Not so.
In a small storefront in Ravenswood, you’ll find hundreds of these writing tools of days …read more

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Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia picked Chicago’s very own Michigan Avenue for its tricked-out flagship store. It was the first in the United States and second in the world, behind Moscow.
The Nokia flagship store offers a few cutting-edge phones before they can be found elsewhere. Of course, calling these mobile devices “phones” doesn’t do them justice. Phones today can do a lot more than just call friends; they can take pictures, surf the Internet, and send text messages. In fact, you can send a text message from one of the demo phones that will display on a giant computer screen …read more

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