Karl Klockars

Hello!

Karl — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:05:52 +0000

Thanks for swinging by my small chunk of the internet. It may not be much, as they say, but it’s home. For those of you who don’t know me and are just stumbling in, welcome, and the pleasure is all mine. My name is Karl Klockars, writer, broadcaster, podcaster, occasional rock and roll schoolteacher (no, [...]

Chicago Nudism – EXTENDED REMIX

Karl — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:23:29 +0000

I had been considering doing this, but credit a nudge in this direction from the Windy Citizens who posted my Time Out Chicago piece about the Chicago Fun Club to the WC and apparently liked it. Thanks for that – in an industry where we spend so much time in the mindset of criticizing and [...]

Things the President Should Do Now that Health Care Has Passed.

Karl — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:33:20 +0000

If you’re like me, you spent more time watching C-span on Sunday than you’ve ever spent cumulatively in your entire life.* If you spent that afternoon and evening flipping back and forth between C-span and ABC Family’s marathon of Harry Potter films, then I’ll thank you to get out of my living room and kindly [...]

I Want A Long-Form Census, And I Want It Now..

Karl — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:38:21 +0000

In the spring of 1990, an envelope appeared in the mailbox of my parents’ suburban home. It was from the government. Apparently, there was something called a Senn-Suss that came around every now and again, and then my Mom handed the envelope to me and explained that the President and his friends in Congress wanted [...]

Dear Crazies: Rules For Manifesto Writing.

Karl — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:34:49 +0000

In the wake of things like “crazy guy flies into IRS offices” and the like, I’ve been thinking about how the internet has empowered the lunatics among us to feel like the whole world owes them a few thousand unique viewers or pageviews when they go and do whatever lunacy they’re gonna do. Considering the [...]

Rewriting History: Thompson & KSM If The Right Had Won

Karl — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:02:42 +0000

Between the transfer of Guantanamo Prisoners to the prison in Thompson, Illinois, and conversation today about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed possibly being tried there, I’ve had to endure a lot of handwringing and general, for lack of a better word, terror about what it would mean to have this guy “right in our back yard” as [...]

Will People Forget About Harry Caray, the Broadcaster?

Karl — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:29:21 +0000

I grew up on mid-80s Chicago Cubs baseball broadcasts. Portions of my childhood are punctuated by exclamations of “Holy Cow!” and other such Harry Caray-isms. I have made the jump since then to White Sox fandom, but that doesn’t preclude the fact that I have many memories of spending summer afternoons camped out in front [...]

Aldermania! Apply Now, Kids, and Be Your Own Councilmember!

Karl — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:35:34 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole “apply to be an alderman” thing that the Mayor threw out there a while back. I mean, yes, I’ve been continually (yet very quietly) organizing my campaign for about the last 4 or 5 years. I think maybe a dozen people know about it at this point. [...]

Postscript: An Open Letter To the Mad Men Staff.

Karl — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:56:22 +0000

Preface: Yes, I am blithering a tremendous amount about Vegas. Yes, I will stop soon. I just need to get it out of my system and then we’ll be fine. I’m detoxing in 3 new inches of Chicago snow and you will forgive me my mental vacations back to the desert, won’t you? Thank you. [...]

In Which We Ramble In An End-Of-Week Style About Other Things Related To Las Vegas

Karl — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:24:33 +0000

Now that we’ve gotten the longest title in the world out of the way, let’s recap. We have to this point discussed the Chicagoan’s Guide to Vegassery, covered sex and capitalism, and now we get to the part where I just troll my brain for other stuff we haven’t covered to this point. The chances [...]