10 CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE
[snip] All that glitters isn’t green. Fred Pearce writes in forest is being razed to grow palm oil and soybeans to
Our Town
New Scientist, “The drive for ‘green energy’ in the devel- fuel cars and power stations in Europe and North
oped world is having the perverse effect of encouraging America.” Surging prices and some governments’ biofuel
the destruction of tropical rainforests. From the orang- requirements are likely to accelerate the destruction.
utan reserves of Borneo to the Brazilian Amazon, virgin —Harold Henderson | hhenderson@chicagoreader.com
Up and Comers
Queen of
All Media
Richard Bluestein
may be Chicago’s first
podcasting star.
By Mike Seely
B
ill Streeter wiped a stream of
golden-brown grease from his
chin as he pulled his maroon
minivan out of a KFC parking lot in
Bloomington and turned toward
Chicago. He popped a cassette
adapter attached to an iPod into his
tape deck, and for the rest of his trip
alternated between stored tunes and
podcasts—downloadable radio pro-
grams he subscribes to via Real
Simple Syndication (RSS), media
aggregation software often referred
to as “TiVo for the Web.” Ninety miles
south of town, he tuned in to one of
his favorite shows: Yeast Radio, an
hour-long daily podcast hosted by a
JIM NEWBERRY
gay Chicago-based performance
artist named Richard Bluestein.
Streeter, creator of the rock ’n’ roll
Richard Bluestein as Madge Weinstein, host of Yeast Radio
culture Web site Lo-Fi Saint Louis,
was headed for the Apple Store on
Michigan Avenue to conduct a ence of her comedy. Her sheer outra- moved to Chicago in 1992 after get- incorporating video,
Saturday-night seminar on video geousness takes the edge off the ting fired from his first postcollegiate audio, and heart-
blogging entitled “Meet the monotony of my day.” job at an Evansville firm. After set- spilling text.
Vloggers.” There, in the small theater Bluestein launched Yeast Radio tling into his new city, he worked in Emboldened by
at the back of the store, he finally met from his Chicago living room in the health-care industry and began Alshaibi’s envelope-
the 38-year-old Bluestein in person— November 2004 with little but a dallying heavily with narcotics, pushing style, he also
though when he did he barely recog- microphone, streaming audio soft- which culminated in a brief stint liv- began performing in
nized him. That’s because on his ware, and a well-conceived persona. ing in Amsterdam in the late 90s. drag at Schubas with
show—which also runs with different A month later he sent a demo reel to “I sought out drugs,” he says. “I the Feast of Fools
content as a video blog—Bluestein former MTV VJ Adam Curry, host of remember in high school phys ed Cabaret, developing an
isn’t Bluestein. He’s Madge Weinstein, the podcast Daily Source Code and class when the drug expert came in alter ego that would crys-
a 59-year-old “bloated Jewish lesbian” founder of Podshow.com, a distribu- and showed the poster of all the dif- tallize on yet another film project.
with a penchant for overeating, hard- tion network that’s attempting to ferent pills that we shouldn’t take if “Some friends of mine were smok-
left politics, flatulence jokes, and monetize home-brewed Internet we were offered them. I just kept ing pot and they called me and said
“yeast infection advocacy.” broadcasts by attracting sponsors thinking, ‘I want one of those, and they wanted to do a mockumentary
The self-proclaimed “shock jock and, eventually, offering premium that, and that!’ So finally I got some like Spinal Tap, except with lesbian
with no cock,” Madge is apt to refer content. Curry was instantly smitten pot and then I escaped. My drug riot grrrls,” says Bluestein. “They
to the vice president as “Penis and soon added Yeast Radio to the problem lasted until I returned from wanted me to play the manager of
Cheney” and secretary of state Podshow roster. According to the Amsterdam, crashed and burned.” the band, this big Jewish woman
Condoleezza Rice as a “cunt-faced network, the show has attracted Bluestein returned to Chicago in who wants to fuck all the girls. So it
whore bull dyke bitch.” She calls lipo- more than 40,000 subscribers since 1998, but having quit drugs, “I had just came out of that.”
suction “thigh abortion” and makes it was picked up in early 2005; fac- nothing to interest me,” he says. “So I The film has yet to be released, but
promises to potential advertisers like toring in unique downloads and lis- bought a video camera and some the band manager character gradu-
“If you sponsor me, I’ll lick your teners to Podshow’s channel on editing software. That’s how my ally evolved into Bluestein’s pre-
balls.” Add F-bomb attacks on the U.S. Sirius satellite radio—the same video hobby started.” He began post- ferred online persona. “I had a lot of
military’s use of white phosphorus in uncensored, pay-to-play network ing experimental clips on a Web site problems in my personal life from
Iraq, comparisons of Enron executives that’s now home to Howard Stern— he’d started (and still maintains), spilling all this shit on the Internet,”
to serial rapists, a flamboyant roster of its audience may be more than dou- insanefilms.com. Then, with few he says. “It damaged some relation-
out-and-proud guests, and vivid ble that size. qualifications to speak of beyond his ships and it became very difficult to
descriptions of the bloated host’s gassy “From day one I was totally in love Web clips, Bluestein answered an ad be truthful. And when I wasn’t
constitution and stool samples and with his concept,” says Curry, who in the Reader seeking a director of truthful, I’d just become depressed.
you have some of Madge’s more radio- estimates he gets a dozen submis- photography for Kristie Alshaibi’s The Madge thing is perfect, because
friendly witticisms. sions per day from aspiring produc- Other People’s Mirrors, a way-off- I can fictionalize my life.”
“I think Yeast Radio is a really good ers. “Madge is really what Howard mainstream production exploring Bluestein’s contract with
example of a content producer who’s Stern wants to be.” adult taboos. Alshaibi was sufficient- Podshow, from which he draws a
not for a broad audience,” said In person Bluestein is reserved, ly impressed with the novice film- full-time salary (neither he nor
Mason Dixon, a video production perhaps owing to his square-peg maker to offer him the gig. Podshow would disclose the
designer and copresenter at the adolescence in Carmel, Indiana, “Cannibalism, rape, murder, group specifics), includes a production
“Meet the Vloggers” symposium. “But where his family moved from New sex—I don’t remember all of them, deal that will allow him to develop
the people who are going to like it are Jersey he was in fourth grade. “It but I had to film them all,” recalls new characters down the road. “I
gonna love it.” sucked,” says Bluestein, whose Bluestein. “We shot a rape scene in plan to have my own half-hour
Streeter—a 38-year-old father, air father is a renowned thermodynam- one of the tunnels under Lake Shore counterversion of Wolf Blitzer’s The
force veteran, and son of a Baptist ics professor. “There were few if any Drive. Somebody actually called the Situation Room on a channel like
minister—doesn’t necessarily fit into other Jewish students in my classes cops. And in the cannibalism scene, Comedy Central,” he says. “I’d call it
what one might assume is the niche and people constantly made fun of our female protagonist ate this guy’s ‘The Shituation Room.’ It’ll make
demographic for a show with a my religion, my eastern accent, and balls. That was my introduction to The Daily Show look like Fox News.”
cross-dressing, openly gay, politically my lack of interest in athletics. I filmmaking.” Bluestein is also currently develop-
radical host, but he’s one of Madge’s was always an introspective child Once production wrapped, ing qpodder.com, an online commu-
most loyal listeners. “Who wouldn’t with few friends.” Bluestein continued to produce multi- nity for queer podcasters.
love her?” Streeter asks. “She’s a Bluestein, who has a degree in media content for insanefilms.com But despite Yeast Radio’s early suc-
complete original. I love the irrever- accounting from Indiana University, and a separate Livejournal account, continued on page 12
CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE 11
12 CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE
[snip] Land of shrinking opportunity. to go to Stanford, because California vot- Weissman, head of the Stanford lab, told
Two of the world’s leading cancer geneti- ers had approved $3 billion for such the San Jose Mercury News, “When they do
cists, Neal Copeland and Nancy Jenkins, research. But now that antiabortion their work, it will be for Singapore. They’ll
are leaving the National Cancer Institute groups have tied up the money in court, conduct their clinical trials in Singapore.
Our Town because of Bush administration restric-
tions on stem-cell research. They were set
they’re going to Singapore’s Institute of
Molecular and Cell Biology. Irving
The first place their work will be patented
and used will be Singapore.” —HH
continued from page 10
cess in attracting an audience, its fol-
lowing hasn’t resulted in the sort of
sustained paid advertising Podshow
is designed to generate: the film
House of Wax, starring Paris Hilton,
is the show’s lone sponsor to date.
Still, Curry remains undaunted.
“We’re willing to subsidize our hunch
that Madge will be something very
big,” says Curry. “This is going to be a
huge community that is very tight-
knit, thanks in no small part to
Richard Bluestein.”
“I’m ready to take on the world,”
Bluestein says. “Howard Stern may
call himself the ‘King of All Media,’
but I’m about to become the
Empress of All Things Tech, Politic,
Media, and Yeast. Honey, every-
thing’s coming up Weinstein!” v
LAURA PARK
Follow the Money
A Million
including salaries, supplies, committee, which oversees bonds, Legislative aides for one alderman or
research costs, meeting costs, and taxes, legal settlements, workers’ committee may help research or even
Here, a Million
ward-office expenses: $39,677,808 compensation, and council spending. draft ordinances; other aides are
• Percent increase from 2005: 7.99 But each of the council’s 19 commit- essentially administrative or clerical
There . . .
• Percent increase in the national tees also has a budget for “personnel assistants. (Most of them are paid
consumer price index over the past services,” which committee chairmen under the “personnel services” line
year: 3.5 use to hire more staff. Tom Allen, item.) One of the longest titles is
The City Council’s cut of • 2006 salary for an alderman: alderman of the 38th Ward and assistant council committee secretary
the 2006 budget. $98,125 chairman of the committee on trans- in charge of committee rooms. “They
• 2005 salary: $94,805 portation and the public way, says the do a variety of different things for the
By Mick Dumke • Percent increase: 3.5 chairmen like having a lump sum for entire City Council,” says Schulter.
A
sense of good cheer pervaded • Percent increase in the council’s hiring because they need “flexibility.” • Number of assistant council com-
the last City Council meeting budget since the first city budget • Number of salaried council staff, mittee secretaries in charge of
before the holidays, on Richard M. Daley introduced as not counting aldermen, listed in committee rooms in 2006: 2
December 14, where the aldermen fin- mayor, in 1990: 71.6 the 2005 (and the 2006) budget: • Salaries for assistant council com-
ished weeks of discussing Mayor • Percent increase in the consumer 184 mittee secretaries in charge of
Daley’s 2006 city budget by making a price index over the same period: 51.2 • Number (not counting aldermen) committee rooms: $57,036 and
few amendments and signing off on it • 2006 salary for council members listed in November 2005 payroll $61,188
48 to 1. Fourth Ward alderman Toni in New York City: $90,000 records: 290 • Number of legislative aides listed in
Preckwinkle was the sole no vote; the • 2006 salary for council members • Number of salaried staff listed in the 2005 (and the 2006) budget: 2
33rd Ward’s Richard Mell was absent. in Houston: $44,400 2006 for president pro tem Danny • Number of salaried legislative
Some aldermen, led by the Ninth • 1990 aldermanic salary: $40,000 Solis, the alderman who presides aides listed in payroll records in
Ward’s Anthony Beale, would still • Value of 1990 aldermanic salary in over the council in the mayor’s 2005: 87
like to add another nickel to the bud- 2005 dollars: $60,474 absence: 4 • Top salary for legislative aides list-
get’s 20-cent hike in cigarette taxes • Number of pay hikes aldermen have • Number for finance committee ed in payroll records in 2005:
to cover the salaries of an additional given themselves since 1990: 6 chairman Ed Burke: 27 $78,828
staff member for each ward. Beale • Number of aldermen who’ve • Number of council staffers who The responsibilities of and funding
says his office receives around refused pay increases since 2002: 2 earn more than aldermen: 6 for the council’s legislative commit-
100,000 constituent phone calls • Salary taken by the two, Margaret • 2006 salary of the highest-paid tees, some of which have been con-
each year. “The job of alderman has Laurino of the 39th Ward and council staffer, finance committee solidated, are also wide-ranging.
really evolved over the years,” he says. Eugene Schulter of the 47th Ward: chief administrative officer Marla • Number of committees in 2006: 19
“We now have e-mail and faxes. We $85,000 Kaiden: $148,452 • Number in 1990: 27
haven’t upgraded our staff and The past 16 budgets have included • Top 2005 salary not itemized in • Percent increase in funding for
offices to keep up with the times.” In funds to cover the salaries of 50 2005 budget, for chief administra- committee staffing and expenses
the meantime they’ll just have to get aldermen, 3 full-time staffers for tive officer Charles Lomanto: since 1990: 61
by with what they’ve been allotted. each, 10 administrators and aides to $106,572 • 2006 budget for the finance com-
Here’s how it breaks down. serve the council as a whole, and up Staff titles don’t always explain mittee, the council’s biggest:
• Total 2006 City Council budget, to 25 staffers for the council’s finance what the people who hold them do. continued on page 14
CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE 13