Friend

My ex is stealing my friends! Two months ago I broke up with my boyfriend; let's call him "Sam. " We had a lovely, loving relationship, but I ultimately didn't see it going anywhere. So after much deliberation and heartache, I broke it off. We met through a longtime mutual friend; let's call him "Frank. " Frank is my ex's best friend and my best guy friend. Now Frank is guilt-tripping me about the breakup, telling me I'm no longer on his "nice list" and generally acting like I'm a bad guy. This is in jest, but also not. It feels a little "bros before hos. " I also found out that I'm not invited to...

Graham Rahal slouched atop a stool nestled inside a local coffee shop. The 24-year-old IndyCar driver planted his elbows firmly on the small table in front of him. His stare darted around the room. He could imagine grandstands surrounding him that very moment. But no crowd rumbled. No checkered flag flapped. The loudest noise in the shop was the feverish tapping of Rahal's right foot. Again and again, he pounded his heel against the metal seat. It was as if he was hammering the gas pedal of a car flying at 225 miles per hour.

I'm friends with a man who has 20 years of gay experience and has suddenly told me he's ready try his luck with the ladies. What would you say to that man? He's almost always identified as gay, came out in high school and then experimented (with modest success) with women in college/grad school. Then he was a serial monogamist in his 20s. So I don't think it would be an experiment, more like a life change. He's in his 30s. I'm thinking midlife crisis? - Confused We've all heard the cliché: Men in their late 30s and 40s want sports cars, 20-year-old...

It's a random Saturday around 10:32 p.m. You find yourself and a few pals in a bar frequented by young, hipster-leaning Chicagoans. Ordering your fourth whiskey with a Coke splash, you observe the scenery. You manage to catch the eye of a girl and her friend who are completely losing their minds to a No Doubt song. You've got a bit of liquid courage and she looks cute enough. What do you do?   Stay put: Read No. 1. Approach them: Read No. 2. 1: She seems well and good, but you just got out of a crappy situation and, hey, this whiskey isn't going to drink itself.

I've been seeing one of my friend's exes. She was a very close friend years ago, but our relationship has dwindled. They were broken up for two years before we got together, but my friend was totally in love with him when they were dating, he broke her heart, and it took her a very long time to get over him, even when she has had other boyfriends, she was still hung up on him. I thought it was just going to be a fling, so I didn't think...

Over the last month I've fallen in love with one of my best guy friends. Usually I would tell him, but the problem is he has a girlfriend. Trust me when I say I am trying not to be some home-wrecker, but it's becoming more and more difficult to hide my real feelings. Do I tell the guy I love how I feel or continue to love from afar? - Crushed Feelings! What I wouldn't give to bury the whole sodded bunch of 'em and call it a day. Alas, then we'd be robots, and that would make for terrible advice columns.

For your friend's birthday, you don't want to buy a lame gift card but you want to do more than just write a message on his Facebook wall. Local startup Boomerang launched Tuesday in Chicago as a social gifting platform tapping into the $100 billion gift card industry to help people give more personalized gift cards that can be delivered quickly and redeemed conveniently at local businesses. Lightbank, the investment fund behind Groupon, invested about $1 million into Boomerang, said founder Zach Smith, 25, of River North.

Rampant consumerism? Check. The same 12 Christmas songs performed 4,300 ways on the radio? You betcha. It's holiday time again, people! With all the yuletide (second only to "delish" as the worst word ever created) cheer comes holiday party season. My inbox is bursting with people asking for Wingman tips for seasonal party domination during this, the season of raging, and like your inappropriate gymnastics coach, I've got your back. I took the six questions I hear the most and applied them to your work holiday party, the party you throw with your friends, and your New...

"What did you say?" As soon as I heard the question, I knew there would be trouble. The Vin Diesel-bodied dude turned around and looked at my friend and me, even though only one of us had been talking. Clearly bigger than either of us, he stood up on the bus and repeated the question. I knew my answer was critical to my safety and that there was no Bud Selig-type to discipline this guy. Fast-forwarding this tale for the sake of column space, my gift of gab narrowly saved our asses from getting an old-fashioned beatdown.

It's a random Saturday around 10:32 p.m. You find yourself and a few pals in a bar frequented by young, hipster-leaning Chicagoans. Ordering your fourth whiskey with a Coke splash, you observe the scenery. You manage to catch the eye of a girl and her friend who are completely losing their minds to a No Doubt song. You've got a bit of liquid courage and she looks cute enough. What do you do?   Stay put: Read No. 1. Approach them: Read No. 2. 1: She seems well and good, but you just got out of a crappy situation and, hey, this whiskey isn't going to drink...

You've already waited in line for popcorn at Garrett. You've endured verbal abuse at The Wieners Circle. And you've devoured the Chicago classic that is the Italian beef sandwich (Al's #1 and Johnnie's being the best, depending on who you ask). So what should be next on your hit list when it comes to eating your way through Chicago? No doubt, you don't need another person pushing the tourist-trap Chicago-style pizzerias (Uno's, Giordano's, Lou Malnati's) or the legendary steakhouses (Gene & Georgetti, Chicago Chop House, Morton's, et al)

Former White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle recently had to leave his beloved pit bull, Slater, behind when he was traded to Toronto due to Ontario's ban on the breed. Blackhawks winger Bryan Bickell's fiancée, Amanda Caskenette, can't imagine having to go through the same thing with their beloved 7-year-old pit bull, Bailey. "The way the ban and media in general portrays pit bulls couldn't be further from the truth," the 29-year-old Roscoe Village resident said via email. "We couldn't imagine our lives without Bailey and the joy, loyalty, and comfort she...

One of my calling cards as a writer and human being is that through all these years my stock has soared here in Chicago, I have remained a man who sleeps on nothing but a mattress placed directly on the floor. Otherwise known as a “floor mattress.” I never saw any reason to upgrade. The bedding industry has us suckered on the need for a box spring. Box springs are bullshit. They add nothing to the sleeping experience, and I refused to give in and buy a bed when I had this perfectly fine mattress that served all my sleeping, sexual, and 4 a.m. Subway...

Two weeks ago, a friend posted a link to my wall about a new mobile dating app called Tinder. Within an hour there were 20 comments under this link from "friends" convinced I would meet my future husband on this thing. I would have taken offense if three years earlier I hadn't declared that I had met my soul mate on Chatroulette. Seriously. Long story short: I tried it, and I am addicted. Here's how it works: You see a picture of a person who lives no more than 100 miles away and are prompted to press an "X" or a heart symbol.

I recently found out my husband found ex-girlfriends on Facebook two years ago and they are friends. He said he kept them secret because he knew I would be upset. Well, I am upset by his disregard for my feelings. Now when they pop up on his news feed, it's a reminder to me that his curiosity or whatever was more important to him than my feelings and our marriage. I want them gone in every way possible. He says they are his past. I say they are in our present, in our marriage. He brought them in, and now I think he needs to take...

Jared Rouben seems to spend just as much time at the farmers market as he does at Goose Island 's Clybourn brewpub, where he has been a brewer for four years. So it's not much of a surprise that the new brewery he plans to launch will focus on what he calls "culinary-driven beer. " "These are beers that have layers of flavor," Rouben said. "Food is what brings these beers to life. Without food, I don't think you'd have beer. " Rouben's made a name for himself in the Chicago beer scene with...

Warning: If you encounter me before 9 a.m. on a weekday, you will most likely get a cranky, snarky Jason. See, I have PTMCD: Post-Traumatic Morning Conversation Disorder. Not too long ago, I ran into a "friend" whom we'll call Tuck who loudly told me all about the hemorrhoid surgery he had just had the week prior. In great detail. At 8 o'clock in the morning. I had to listen to Tuck go on and on and on about the surgery and the aftereffects. This would have been barely tolerable on a drunken Saturday at a bar, but before work and before coffee?

There's something about sub-50s temperatures that make parties transition from far-flung cocktail bars to oh-so-convenient (for the host) house parties. It was in that spirit that I ended up in a number of apartments over the past few weeks, mixing awkward conversation with unfortunate (but budget-friendly) beer choices. On the way I ran into a few characters - over and over again. You probably know them. In fact, you're probably one of them: The out-of-town friend: Oh hey, how do you know everyone again?

**** (out of four) For a hypothetical, four-band concert comprised of the best music-related movies of the past 20 years (documentaries not included), “Almost Famous” would obviously headline. “Crazy Heart” performs second. Tom Hanks' “That Thing You Do” goes on first. What's slotted third? “Sopranos” creator David Chase's personal, deeply felt feature writing-directing debut “Not Fade Away,” which makes Hanks' immensely entertaining comedy look goofy and shallow.

For reasons I can't figure out, New Year's Eve continues to be a source of frustration for Chicagoans looking to have a great time. It's not that hard, people! Allow me to walk you through, hour by hour, a foolproof plan to optimize your New Year's Eve experience. Think of this as P90X for partying. 7 a.m. Make sure you got a good night of sleep. That is imperative. Before you leave for work, assemble the following by your bed: ibuprofen, a giant cup and a sports drink. Noon Eat something with carbs.