I thought Chicago was bad! But after reading an article this morning, I learned that Miami is the number one city for rude drivers. That’s right, for the second year in a row, Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released today.

The most frequent cause of road rage cited in the survey was impatient motorists. Drivers also cited poor driving in fast lanes and driving while stressed, frustrated or angry.

Curious if your city made the list? Here’s the top 25 road rage cities:

1. Miami

2. New York

3. Boston

4. Los Angeles

5. Washington, D.C.

6. Phoenix

7. Chicago

8. Sacramento, Calif.

9. Philadelphia

10. San Francisco

11. Houston

12. Atlanta

13. Detroit

14. Minneapolis-St. Paul

15. Baltimore

16. Tampa, Fla.

17. San Diego

18. Cincinnati

19. Cleveland

20. Denver

21. Dallas-Ft. Worth

22. St. Louis

23. Seattle-Tacoma

24. Pittsburgh

25. Portland, Ore.

Happy Mother’s Day!

This week PostSecret has a motherly theme to it. Here are my favorites:

Be sure to check out the rest of them at PostSecret

I’ve never participated in a scavenger hunt and I’m pretty bummed out about that. So imagine my disappointment when I learned that the University of Chicago kicked off it’s 21st annual Scavenger Hunt Thursday morning. UC students partake in a 4-day scavenger hunt that takes them around campus, the city and on road trips (not to exceed 1,000 miles) to find the 300+ list of scavenger hunt items that include “performances, construction, arts and crafts, research, travel and finding obscure objects.”

I’ve provided the link to this year’s list

A couple of my favorite items are:

74. Enter a lecture class in street clothes. Receive loud phone call. Shout “I NEED TO GO, THE CITY NEEDS ME!” Remove street clothes to reveal superhero apparel. Run out for the good of the land. [18 points]

79. The Gob-stacle course! Ride a Segway! Wield the sword of destiny! Show us your Hot Cops routine! Eat a frozen banana! Dramatically hurl a letter into the sea, from whence it came! Shoot lighter fluid from your sleeves! Demonstrate to the Dean of Love that he’s a chicken! Cut an album with Franklin! 100 pennies! And if you’ve got the wrong music, well, you’ve made a huge mistake. [Did you really think you would have to do anything less for this 3,000 point item, no, 4,000, no, 5,000, no, 52. COME ON!]

268. Pants containing a party. G [10 points]

The Chicago Red Eye was kind enough to provide its readers with nine links you don’t want to miss. Since I’m so fantabulous, I thought I’d share these with all you non-Chicagoans.

1. Will Ferrel’s latest homemade video. It’s certainly not The Landlord, which was released all over the internet some time last month. But it does have a port-o-potty and a pool table.

2. Lost producers talk about the last three seasons. Still feeling Lost about Lost? Well I don’t think this link will help you out of the hole the show has so kindly put us in, but it does talk about the future of Lost as well as leave you with a cryptic feeling. Even the producers make me lost.

3. Bye Bye Bob Barker. The 83-year-old Barker will tape his last episode of “The Price Is Right” the first week of June. People are being asked to make a 15-second farewell greetings on YouTube for possible broadcast.

4. Schilling calls Bonds an admitted cheater, Giants announcer calls Schilling an idiot What could I say about this? I don’t care about baseball or steroids.

5. Carlos Mencia steals a Bill Cosby joke Proof that Mencia is really a thief. A joke-thief. I didn’t find the joke all that funny the first time, it certainly didn’t get any better the second time.

6. Feud between Rogan and Mencia ensues. Apparently fear is not a factor for Rogan. Rogan goes on a radio station to tell people how Mencia steals jokes. However, the DJ then bans Mencia because he finds out a joke he told on the show while advertising for one of his own, was stolen. Silly boys.

7. Really horrible first-date ideas. Shooting rats at the dump is not my idea of a good time.

8. Natalie Portman wants to broadcast her life. The Star Wars star is proposing a continuous feed of her work and personal life. Personally, I think she should stick to making movies. Celebrities who start their own reality shows seem to drop off the face of the earth a year after it airs. Does anybody hear about the Osbournes as much as we did 5 years ago? And look what happened to Nick and Jessica after The Newlyweds. Stick to the big screen! Save yourself!

9. O.J., what are you doing here O.J. Simpson was asked to leave a restaurant in Louisville because the owner didn’t like him. O.J. left quietly and the restaurant applauded the owner and sent around 100 positive emails supporting him. Now, O.J.’s attorney is contemplating suing Jeff Ruby, the owner of the restaurant. Drama, drama, drama. The last thing O.J. needs is to be back in court.

So there you have it. The nine links you couldn’t possibly live without today. If you were having a bad day, guess who just saved it? Me. If you were already having a great day…well I only helped

In the past I haven’t had much luck seeing bands I enjoy. In particular, Guster. Whenever they are in Chicago, I’m in Boston. Whenever they’re in Boston, I’m in New York. When I’m in New York, they’re in Chicago. It’s a vicious cycle that one day I’m hoping will end. Actually, they will be in Chicago on July 8 with Dave Matthews Band. But I don’t care much for DMB so I can’t see spending money for a ticket just to see the opening band.

Anyway, enough of my band bad luck –

So imagine my surprise when I saw that Michael Buble will be in Chicago July 23 and 24. Where will I be on those days…well in school for one, but I’m free on the 24th! Now, the likelihood of me actually attending the show seems dim. I don’t know many people who enjoy the Canadian crooner besides my mom. He does a lot of covers (example: Come Fly With Me, Kissing A Fool, Feeling Good, and Home) and reminds me over a very young Sinatra. He has that charm about him.

The video for Kissing A Fool is animated and I love it. It’s actually about he movie “Down With Love” with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share because that’s what I do!

In honor of the release of the newest Spiderman movie, I thought I’d include Buble’s version of “Spiderman”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufby-tcX14k]

Rachel McAdams is in Chicago.

The Notebook star arrived in Chicago last week to film “The Return” with Tim Robbins. McAdams filmed today at a hospital in Arlington Heights. During her off time she spends time at her lavish downtown hotel, shopping and working out at Energy Training Center

Why do I know this? Good question. Moving along…
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Thousands upon thousands of people in Illinois alone start their day with an extra “boost” from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, or any other coffee vendor nearby. But did you know there is such a thing as too much of a boost? Clinging to caffeine can be more harmful than people realize. How much caffeine is too much, and, more importantly, how would you know if you were overdoing it?

According to Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian and American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman, the average adult caffeine consumer should have no more than 200 to 300 milligrams a day. That amounts to about two to three cups of regular coffee, according to the ADA.

How do you know if you’ve crossed the line? Look for symptoms of nervousness, irregular heartbeat, ringing in the ears and restlessness. You can also experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and nausea. Caffeine is held most responsible for restlessness while trying to sleep. It remains in the body for approximately seven hours even after just one cup of coffee, says James Wyatt, a sleep disorder expert.

Approximate amounts of caffeine in a number of products, including energy drinks, coffee and pop, can be found in the food and health section of the official website for the non-profit medical practice.
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Chicagoans, watch out! More red light cameras have been added to intersections known for red-light runners and accidents. Which ones are they? Well let me help you out.

Six new cameras were activated at the following locations: 79th Street and Western Avenue; 79th and Cottage Grove Avenue; 79th and South Chicago Avenue; Chicago and Western Avenues; 51st Street and South Western Boulevard; and Belmont and Austin Avenues.

The cameras snap photos of license plates and the drivers of vehicles entering intersections after the traffic signal has turned red. The registered owners of the vehicles receive $90 fines in the mail.

So far an estimated 39 cameras are in place citywide and another 31 will be installed during the rest of 2007.
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Architect David Fisher apparently wants to construct a skyscraper where each floor would revolve independently around a central core, not only making it a 360-degree rotation but also creating a constantly shifting profile.

Fisher is a little-known Italian-Israeli architect and developer who recently announced plans to build such a skyscraper in Dubai was in Chicago last week and has designs on adding another rotating tower, housing condos (because Chicago needs more of those), offices and a hotel, to Chicago’s skyline.

He insists this project is doable and that at least two developers in Chicago are interested, though he refused to identify them.

So not only do we have Santiago Calatrava’s 2,000 foot drill bit twisting into our sky line, but now we get to have this crazy tower as well. Personally, I think both of these buildings are a bit much. Cool concepts I guess, but are we really ready for them? No.

A classmate sent me this video and I must agree with who ever originally posted it. It really is some of the 6 funniest minutes of my life.

Watch it because it will make you laugh! And laughter keeps you young. Perhaps you’ll recall the day you were busting out these sweet moves
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg]

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of music by Sufjan Stevens. I made a post a while back with his video for Chicago. I finally downloaded came across some more of his music this weekend and wanted to share a couple videos with ya’ll.

The first is “To Be Alone With You.” It’s a very meaningful song I think. At first you think it could be a love song…but after listening to the lyrics closely, it makes me think it could be about a father.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoQzWb_f1oA]

The second song caught my eye because of it’s title: “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” If any of you have been living under a rock for the last 30ish years, John Wayne Gacy is a pretty notorious Chicago-serial killer. He was convicted and later executed for the rape and murder of 33 boys and 27 of whom he buried in a crawl space under the floor of his house. (Others were found in nearby rivers). He became notorious as the “Killer Clown” because of the many parties he attended, entertaining children in a clown suit and makeup, under the name of “Pogo the Clown.” Why do I know this? Because he lived not too far from me and I read a lot of books about him a while back. I’m not sure why. But anyway, Sufjan wrote a song about this and while it’s not the best of subjects, I think it’s beautifully disturbing song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNIzmDUsNA]

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of days, Paris Hilton is going to jail! ::let the dancing and celebrations commence::

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has sentenced Hilton to 45 days in LA County Jail for violating her probation by driving with a suspended license. Her sentence will begin on June 5th (I think we should observe this day as a holiday) The judge made sure she wouldn’t be allowed on work release or electronic monitoring instead of jail.

Moments before the judge gave his decision, Paris was crying and told the court:

“I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry.” The judge called out her rep Elliot Mintz in court, describing his testimony as “completely worthless.” He also told Paris that he did not believe that she was unaware of her license suspension, adding that she had paperwork in her car stating that her license was suspended.

I’m so glad this judge decided to ignore the fact that she’s a rich, spoiled brat and threw her ass in jail. Its about time celebrities realize that they, too, can be punished. Unfortunately, I doubt she’ll learn anything from her jail time and I wouldn’t die of shock if a new “Paris: In the Slammer” reality show didn’t hit TVs all over America.

I only found a couple of favorites today. Be sure to check out the rest over at PostSecret

I love this one.

This is just fantastical!