just like any situation where theres a parent company and you work for one of the “smaller” companies, there is going to be a little drama between your company and the mothership. but because i grew up 45 minutes outside of Chicago, and the Trib was our family paper, it was a huge thrill to see the very top of the tower, to seven stories below.

the main floor has a wall filled with quotes that seem ironic now that we have heard from the outgoing administration that newspapers shouldnt tell the world about prison torture, nor should it question the government. which is why i love this quote from one of the most famous government icons in regards to newspapers.

the chicago tribune newsroom is pretty awesome looking. id say it gives the one at the LA Times a run for its money.

theres even a set right there for tv shots.

this is where Tribune Interactive does their magic. Interactive is a fancy word for web site and web-related reporting and editing and business. ironically this is where the printing presses used to be and now its home of the next step of delivering the news.

its also home of Metromix

as you walk around you get to see some old stuff that mighta been around for a hundred years.

several floors down you can see all these hot water boilers and hidden treasures and amazing things down there that are saved up in case theres another civil war.

the views from the top are breathtaking

the macnelly room was probably my favorite. he was the illustrator behind Shoe and lots of cool editorial cartoons

second best is Col. McCormick’s office, filled with secrets

Brent was also the guy who insisted that we take in the Bears game on Monday night, so for that and the first-rate tour, i tip my hat(s) to him. Merry Christmas!

the ones i like the best are from

meredith “oh mistletoe” cheesborough, who today celebrates her twenty first birthday

although the photography is far above average and the lighting is great, youd sorta expect that from the glorious canadian light reflecting off all the snow and igloos and fallen polar bears who are starving because of global warming.

i gotta say its her choice of outfits that appeals to me the most. the creativity by which she can go from one genre to the next. the clear thinking out of the box is at once breathtaking, giddy, and definitely hot.

ah young redheads in the great white north. where do you come from? where are you going? whats in the water in toronto?

normally i dont write much about meredith because sass would get jealous but today is her birthday and finally she can drink, so the secret can come out. plus how rough must it be that your day of birth is overshadowed by the Lord’s and you have to share an apartment with that attention ho ms zucket and her singing and her videoing and her blogging?

thus the nudes, i suppose. well, i for one love them and i am here to respectfully hope they keep coming like the finest columbia house record club ever imagined.

happy birthday ms mistletoe, long may you reign.

crazy thing, i was just driving recklessly through a snow storm last night air drumming to this song, and lo our pal rex links to a better version of it than my steering wheel endured. ah, synchronicity. or in this case, moving pictures.