Wikileaks

The governments of the United States, Sweden, and Interpol have brought their collective forces to bear on a target that seems to be embarrassing them all; Julian Assange, the nomadic, chamelion-like leader of Wikileaks, which has just begun a months-long process of pulling the curtain back from years of U.S. diplomatic efforts. The U.S. government, using Sen. Joseph Lieberman as a proxy, has demanded Amazon.com cease hosting Wikileaks, which is has since done. The Swedish government has issued an arrest warrant on rape charges against Assange that are no doubt politically motivated, Interpol is currently pursuing Assange as well. Wikileaks seems to have found a new home on Swiss servers in order to continue to provide the documents it possesses for public access, and should Assange be arrested, Wikileaks has other members who will carry on with its work.

Wikileaks is performing a public service. Not only does the world have a right to know the truths of international diplomacy, the cables are a treasure trove for historians and armchair ambassadors. Governmental secrecy is desirable in some cases, but none of the cables in Wikileaks collection are labeled top secret. Indeed, most will merely embarrass world leaders, as details they believed were shared in confidence will be revealed for the world that we all live in and deserve to know about. Now presented with a peephole into world affairs, fly on the wall status, we must loudly defend Wikileaks and its rights and ability to continue. To anyone who disagrees, if the U.S. or any other government has done nothing wrong, what does it have to worry about?

Carnivale

Having never been to Carnivale, I expected run of the mill pan-Latin food, a drink menu that's mostly sweet and frozen, and waiters in gaucho pants. I was right on only the drink menu, which was mostly a bachelorette party's dream, apart from an extensive tequila selection. The food and atmosphere were completely different stories. Carnivale, like all restaurants run by impressario Jerry Kleiner is big, bold, and popular with those hoping to be seen. The decor is colorful, vibrant, and more than over the top, but it worked with such a large space and guest list; it created a fun setting and encouraged consumption of several fairly weak caipirinhas (the cachasa-based national drink of Brazil, whose root word means "hillbilly"). After settling in, acclimating to the noise level, and slightly obnoxious and disrespectful waiter, appetizers arrived. Guacamole with chips was creamy and refreshingly tasted of lime, but was in need of a kick. House made ricotta with pleasingly greasy garlic bread was rich enough but lacking, a balsamic flavor or pomegranate seeds would have added another dimension. The must-order small plate is tortillas covered in melted cheese and squash blossom, topped with tiny shrimp and a fiery tomato sauce. The entrees looked no less creative or promising; a churrasco style beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes enhanced with equal parts goat cheese and cream, a pleasingly thick arugula-based chimichurri, and a "spicy beet salsa" which was neither spicy nor a salsa, but still served as a nice accompaniment to the beef. Unfortunately, the tenderloin was served nearly well-done, not medium rare as requested. Dessert was merely adequate, an outrageous portion of three tropical ice creams molded around cake into a tower. Overall, Carnivale is an excellent celebratory restaurant but not a choice for a light, quiet dinner.

Burger Bar

When a new trend begins, it's always followed by imitators. Some innovate on the trend, making it better. Some push boundaries, taking the trend in new directions. And some, in an attempt to capitalize on it come up way short and embarrass themselves. Burger Bar fits into the third category; embarrassing. Burger Bar began life as Urban Burger Bar but had to drop the "Urban" after a copyright dispute. Too bad, they should have simply closed and saved Chicagoans the misery. The woes began before even entering the restaurant. $7 valet in the Clybourn corridor, with street parking plentiful is insanity. The lone valet looked extremely bored and seemed to wonder what he was doing there. In due time, so would I. Burger Bar is a large space, split into a bar area with several high tables and a dining room with lots of found objects and light wood as decoration. Mostly empty which wasn't odd for a weeknight, the waiter was friendly but a bit unprofessional. He did take his time explaining some of the burgers which the menu left unclear. Upsides: cheap large beer selection featuring many local breweries and some of the "snacks" or Burger Bar lingo for appetizers. Fried pickle spears with a pinkish mayo-based sauce and house made chips covered in an almost too mild blue cheese sauce were addictive. Also Burger Bar is moderately priced. Downsides: pretty much everything else. The rest of the snacks (sweet potato tater tots, green bean fries) were limp and without taste, redeemed only by more mayo-based sauces. The burgers are simply terrible. They're charred, mushy and flavorless. One was cooked to medium rare as requested but somehow was dried out, yielding not even a drop of juice. Toppings are plentiful but unimaginative. A "special hot sauce" that could be added to a burger was almost entirely sriracha; it was slopped on top creating a huge mess and disintegrated the soft bun. Fries were under salted and limp. Milkshakes were thin and barely tasted of their advertised ingredients (a malted milk ball shake tasted more of vanilla than anything else and a peanut butter version was only slightly better). Overall, there's no reason to waste time with a pretender when so many restaurants (DMK Burger Bar, Kuma's Corner, The Counter, McDonald's) are much more enjoyable.

Cumin

An unassuming little Indian restaurant in Wicker Park that does the basics well. The decor is hip but comfortable. Bowls of spices fill the air with the unmistakable scent of Indian cuisine.The hostess and service is friendly, if a bit discombobulated. After a brief wait at the bar (the smallish space was full and bustling, even on a weeknight), a friendly waitress pointed out that in addition to the standards of Indian food, Cumin features a large amount of Nepalese dishes. Sadly, the goat will have to wait until next time. An appetizer of a samosa, chaat-like fried okra, and lamb kebab was delicious if simple. Then began the wait. At least 40 minutes passes before the entrees arrived, and it seemed like the wait was endemic; other tables were experiencing it as well. When the chicken tikka masala and vegetable biryani finally arrived, they were found to again be good examples of basic Indian food that non-Indians feel comfortable eating. One of the waiters even smiled knowingly as he set the plates down. Highlights were a naan filled with ground lamb and a spicy yogurt sauce to drizzle over the hot biryani, cutting the fire of the rice well. Overall, Cumin satisfies a craving for Indian staples should one be in Wicker Park.

Big Star

Looking for clean design? Exposed bulbs, pale green walls, large, hip wooden booths? Searching for a honky-tonk? Blaring country music, an encyclopedic selection of cheap bourbon and whiskey? In the mood for trendy Mexican food? Sonoran hot dogs, doused in mayo, guacamole, hit with a fiery touch of chile peppers, guacamole studded with julienned radish to cool the burn, or potato and chorizo tostadas smeared with black bean paste? Just go to Big Star. A fun, crowded, loud, easy going bar with a walk up window for those addicting tacos (also available in tender al pastor with pineapple or tinga, a slightly bland chicken thigh sprinkled with mild queso fresco). Should you want to sample a Kentucky Bourbon from a certain distillery, they probably have it at a reasonable price, but cash only, please. And be prepared to wait, especially for a booth (there are only a few). Instead have a seat at the bar, get comfortable elbowing your neighbor, listen to the roots music, and start picking bourbons and tacos. Ah, life's simple pleasures.

Open Letter Concerning the Annual War on Christmas

Dear Fellow Jews and Allied Non-Christians (Atheists, Muslims, staff of MSNBC), I hope this missive finds you well. I know my usual yearly means of communication is Priest's blood on sheep's vellum but you'd be surprised how difficult that was to obtain this year, despite our nefarious organization's reach and power. Yes, you all no doubt know why I write. It's time again to take up arms in our most sacred mission, the War on Christmas. It's well into October so we have approximately two weeks before that radio station plays nothing but Christmas music and department store Santas get their suits out from under the pyramid of empty beer cans. Recall in years past we undertook such missions as ensuring major corporations spit in the eye of Jesus-fearing people everywhere by suggesting that "Happy Holidays" was a bit more inclusive than "Merry Christmas", and who can forget that perennial favorite, suggesting creches and other displays of Christmas be moved from public property or at the very least, a small nod to other holidays be permitted nearby. Alas, often we have been found out and thwarted by such fair-haired America-loving defenders of Christ such as Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin and the mouth-breathers who inhabit National Review's subterranean lair. No matter how we try to operate in secret, they still feel a need to shine a dastardly light on our efforts, heroically attempting to remind America that it is indeed Chistmastime. As if anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas could ever forget, ever.

The Social Network, or, Is Mark Evil?

The movie tells a compelling story. Viewers see the spark of genius at work, the creation of an original idea. Who, exactly, creates that idea is up for debate. Through a nebulous two hours, we are given a path by watching Mark Zuckerberg develop the Facebook in his dorm room and later, squirm through two depositions as Mark is being sued. Mark is made to look like a tragic villain, almost Grecian in the way his life played out (he's known to enjoy epic Greek poetry, so maybe this was an allusion to that). But the director, Aaron Sorkin, admitted in interviews that the storytelling aspect was more important than the facts, which vary slightly from the book the movie is based on (the book's factual account is disputed by Facebook as well). So we cannot take either the book or movie as gospel, as it's told primarily by the Winklevoss twins and Eduardo Saverin, three people who we know comparatively little about in the story, except for the fact that they were losers compared to Mark, the eventual CEO of Facebook and billionaire. Consider Mark as someone who nurtured the idea. The idea may not have been entirely his brainstorm, but he built that idea into a multibillion dollar website that's changed the way we interact online. Convinced the idea for the Facebook is his, Mark does what he thinks he needs to do to protect it. Nothing sinister about that.