April 13--Godzilla has been appointed a tourism ambassador for Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. Chicago has nothing like an irradiated monster to sell it to visitors, at least until the mayor gets off his supposed humility kick.
Seriously, though, where are the tourism ads with cartoonish Chicago characters? Like Ferris Bueller? Clark W. Griswold? Mike Ditka?
The Grateful Dead has signed for a pair of late-June shows in Santa Clara, Calif. After Deadhead demand sent resale ticket prices soaring for three farewell July performances in Chicago, band members hope for a contract high.
The NBA has agreed to a marketing deal with Pepsi, ending its 28-year run with Coca-Cola. Expect the league to truly embrace Pepsi's famous slogan: "I'm Sorry. Is Pepsi OK?"
Sears is contributing 10 properties to a joint venture with Simon Property Group. This follows a similar recent arrangement with General Growth Properties. Getting squeezed by e-tailers such as Amazon, Sears at least offers a far greater selection of real estate.
Police in Olympia, Wash., nabbed a 22-year-old suspect in the April 8 holdup of a local Subway restaurant. The man, who had a knife and a white canvas bag with a dollar sign printed on it when he was caught, was considered armed and hilarious.
The suspect, who wore a red bandanna over his face as he told a Subway worker not to "do anything funny," was charged with robbery but not irony. And he probably would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids.
In Chicago 59 years ago Tuesday, Ampex demonstrated its new videotape technology for CBS affiliates, predicting it someday might be mass-produced for home use. Unmentioned was the promise of bringing sporting events to a screeching halt to double-check officiating.
philrosenthal@tribpub.com
