Twitter has been blocking or otherwise impeding links to Substack newsletters, so this page has become my workaround.

Picayune Sentinel for 5-25-23

Relax! The big chickens are too scared of the big babies to put the nation into default
Last week’s winning tweet
News and Views — The National Enquirer turns on Donald Trump; The Triibe is killin’ it!; The “human composting” bill in Springfield is dead; Activists fighting for a different school-board districts map.
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Race to the slop — The 2023 Oakland A’s are on track to be the worst team in baseball’s modern era. And I’m there for it.
Mary Schmich — On newspapers at kitschy deli wrap
“The Mincing Rascals” preview — Monica Eng of Axios Chicago joined the small panel this week to talk about her series on property tax appeals.
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll and this week’s finalists.
Word court — Your verdict, please, on “lie” and “lay” and “theater” vs. “theatre.” Plus an rumination on “accident” and a look at one of the strangest sentences you’ll ever see.
Polling position: How readers rated the best months in Chicago an a question about banana splits.
Tune of the Week — “Mighty Mighty” as nominated by my Songs of Good Cheer bandmate Jim Wynton

Picayune Sentinel for 5-18-23

Brandon Johnson makes trouble in alluding to Adam Toledo
Last week’s winning tweets
Promo for tonight’s event at the Hideout
News and Views
WFMT-FM’s “The Midnight Special” turns 70
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Word Watch — What do you call that last bit of food that everyone wants but no one wants to grab?
Mary Schmich — On her mother’s yellow coat
“The Mincing Rascals” preview
Ranking the months in Chicago — 1 through 12
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll and this week’s finalists
Tune of the Week — “The Mary Ellen Carter” nominated by Peter Sagal

Picayune Sentinel for 5-11-23

Lightfoot’s defiant, unapologetic exit reminds us why she lost
Last week’s winning tweet
“Chicago Tonight” moves time slots again
The Picayune Sentinel regrets the Tribune’s errors in an editorial calling for a balanced budget amendment
News and Views on Donald Trump’s appalling locution, Tiger Woods’ breakup technique and bellyaching about “robo umps.”
An interview with author Mark Guarino about Chicago’s country music and folk history
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Is ‘semi-permanent tattoo’ an oxymoron?
“The Mincing Rascals” preview
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll, this week’s finalists in the regular and dad-joke division, and the results of a poll on the funniest way to agree to sex in just five words.
I am pleased and irritated to tell you how I cut $50 a month off my satellite TV bill
Tune of the Week — “Waltzing on Top of the World”

Picayune Plus for 5-9-23

Picayune Sentinel for 5-4-23

Now? Now can we have political ethics reform?
Last week’s winning tweet
Tune of the Week — From Gordon Lightfoot, naturally
News and Views — On striking Hollywood writers, Willie Wilson’s new column and more
Yes, we need more critics. And local staff columnists, too
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
What should a journalist do if a subject will only offer answers in writing to questions?
Mary Schmich — Thoughts on the demolition of a neighboring building
“The Mincing Rascals” preview
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll and this week’s finalists

Z-mail on insurance industry practices, Dylan Mulvaney, Kim Foxx’s failure to prosecute R. Kelly, school funding discrepancies and more
The flimsy case against ‘human composting’
Results of reader polls on the value of social media and the great waffles vs. pancakes debate.
The visual tweets poll

Kim Foxx’s legacy is still on the line
Last week’s winning tweet
Unlike a good neighbor, State Farm drops a longtime customer over storm damage
News and Views— on Tucker Carlson, Brandon Johnson’s endorsement of Joe Biden, John Greenfield, Bob Fioretti and Dylan Mulvaney
Word Watch — A farewell salute to a fellow language lover
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Homeless advocate on housing asylum seekers in Chicago — ‘What’s going on here?’
Mary Schmich — A skyline photo of our wondrous city
“The Mincing Rascals” preview
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll and this week’s finalists
Tune of the Week — Picking just one Harry Belafonte song as a valedictory was a challenge!

I would gladly pay $8 a month for Twitter— but not under these circumstances
Visual Tweet of the Week poll

Last week’s winning tweet — … and some close runners up
News and Views — Don’t stand in the doorway, Sen. Feinstein. Don’t block up the hall
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Kass strikes back — Sort of
Mary Schmich — Regrets her error
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the visual tweets poll and this week’s finalists
Results of the reader poll on pennies and nickels — They make a lot of cents
Tune of the Week — “Georgia Hard” nominated by Mark Guarino

John Kass and “The Chicago Way ™“
Last week’s winning tweet
Another reason to support journalism
News and Views — On the Democratic convention, the Adam Toledo case and more
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Dump the nickel as well as the penny!
Play the retro version of Never-Have-I-Ever
“The Mincing Rascals” preview
Re:Tweets — Featuring the winner of the last two visual tweets polls and this week’s finalists
Tune of the Week — A fiddle tune with a timely name and good story behind it

Mayoral election review
I voted and yet I didn’t
Two shining moments — The Tweet Madness winners
The epic concession speech in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race
News and Views
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Mary Schmich — A brand new TrumPoem
“The Mincing Rascals” preview — This week, Alice Yin from the Tribune joined the panel
Re:Tweets — Featuring a plea to Elon Musk, a visual tweet that I won’t put in the poll and this week’s admirable crop of finalists
Tune of the Week — Nancy Nall Derringer nominates a Shadow Show song