Honestly, I thought I would chicken out at the last minute. But when I arrived at the beach and found hundreds of people screaming and throwing their bodies into the icy lake, I just couldn't resist. I stripped down to my bathing suit and ran through the snow towards the water with my friend Annie and four Sarahs. My, that was refreshing!

I felt somewhat loopy afterwards—my head clogged with a combination of endorphins and hypothermic-style disorientation. We pulled out some warm tea and shook out our frozen hair. I couldn't stop smiling at the rippling heather clouds hovering above the city skyline.

It turns out that the North-Avenue-Beach New-Year's-Day Polar-Bear-Swim is an annual event. Really, I can't think of a better way to kick off another twelve months (unless it involves saunas and hot tubs). Some may call us crazy; I prefer the term "adventurous." 

 

Okay, so I missed the Globetrotters' performance earlier today, but I still caught a whole lot of awesomeness at Mayor Daley's Holiday Sports Fest this weekend. The three-day annual event draws some 85,000 participants from all over Chicagoland. The event is free and open to the public, thanks in part to the city's Special Events Office, Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Park District.

After reading a description of the event, I thought it sounded kinda cool. But after walking inside the luxurious—we're talking indoor fountains and marble staircases—building and witnessing the incredible scope and scale of the event, I came to the realization that this was much more than "kinda cool." 

Archery, golf, martial arts, adaptive sports, fencing, gymnastics, basketball, ping pong, aerobics classes, climbing walls, skateboarding...if you can name it, then they had it.

See for yourself. I couldn't resist flip-camming the heck out of that space.

I love community events that give people the chance to play together. What a great way to spice up the winter break. So rad :) 

 

Good news for differently-abled young athletes in Chicago:

Yesterday, a partnership of thirteen organizations announced plans to launch the Chicago Paralympic Development Program. Set to begin in February, the program will provide training facilities, equipment, and professional coaches for visually and physically impaired youth in Chicago and other parts of Illinois.

Young people with disabilities must work through many obstacles in order to play sports. With $450,000 set aside to get the program started, the Chicago Paralympic Development Program  will help disabled youngsters stay active, build self-esteem, and perhaps earn a Paralympic medal.

Paralympic gold medalist Ann Cody won a National Coucil of Youth Sports Award earlier this year for her efforts to bring more sports opportunities to disabled youth. She serves as Chair of the Women in Sport Committee, a group that helps girls and women with disabilities pursue athletics. Cody began wheelchair racing and played wheelchair basketball while going to school at the University of Illinois.

With the new youth program in place, we may begin to see more Paralympic Illinoisans racing wheelchairs to gold.

Thanks to Ann Cody and to all of the participating organizations for taking steps to make adaptive sports more accessible to youth.

I stepped out of the cold of December and into a polka-dot stairwell on Milwaukee Ave. The steps led to a smooth wooden dance floor with a couple of cozy couches, a windchime, and a bright orange parachute draping across the room. I found myself hanging out in Silverspace, a Chicago dance studio where performance art projects thrive.

I biked over to Silverspace to participate in a movement workshop led by esteemed tap dancer, alternative movement artist, urban street performer, and awesome friend Annie Rudnik. Following Annie's expert facilitation, the seven participants explored motion and physical activity through moving meditation and other exercises intended to increase our mind/body awareness.

I was able to snag a quick video interview with Annie, who embraces movement as a richly rewarding component of her life.

But wait—here's another video of Annie tap-dancing in a completely different context. In this video she's rocking out to the music of Pussywillow Sparks at the Alche Circus (which took place at my very own humble abode), in the company of our favorite Chicago contortionist, Jackie.

Thanks to Annie for bringing people together to enjoy movement. And thanks to Silverspace for providing a place for Chicago dancers to move.

 

 

So I’ll admit it—my fair state has been under a bad press storm for the past few days. After the immense pride of bringing Obama into office, Illinoisans now hang their heads in shame. Our guilt stems from a collective inability to elect respectable, honest leaders. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to appoint Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in the first place?

Aside from attempting to sell senate seats to the highest bidder, Blago also tried to use pro sports sales to boost his PR leverage in Chicago Tribune editorials.

Apparently Rod-man doesn’t like it when the press calls him out on his corrupt activities. He even went as far as to say that the Tribune’s financial troubles can be attributed to its stinking editorial staff: Chicagoans no longer want to read the Tribune because of the habitual slander against their esteemed governor.

Oooh, snap!

Blago mistakenly believed that helping to sell some key Tribune assets—the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field—would put the Tribune in a position of forced gratitude. In Blago’s corrupt world, the favorable sale should amount to favorable press.

Man, did that ever backfire. Now Roddy faces obligatory resignation or possible impeachment. And the Tribune isn’t exactly shying away from reporting all of the nasty details of Rod’s schemes.

As the editorial in yesterday’s Tribune clearly stated: “Selling the Cubs is a key step in the Tribune Co.'s financial strategy. But the integrity of the editorial page is not for sale.”