61st St. Farmers Market on Chicago’s South Side. Patricia Evans

Today the Metropolitan Planning Council launched its Placemaking Chicago “What makes your place great? contest and website.

Placemaking Chicago is an initiative meant to get communities involved in the planning of public spaces.

Its “What makes your place great?” contest is a way for you to speak up about your favorite public spaces in Chicago and Chicago suburbs.  You can email original photos or videos of your favorite public spaces to placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org along with a 250-word or less description.

The contest is open June 3 through July 27.  Four winners will be announced on Sept. 25.

Prizes include Art Institute passes, architecture tour tickets, and gift certificates to some of Chicago’s yummiest restaurants.

Check out contest rules and guidelines for details.

philip pannenko/FLICKR

The Chicago Tribune’s Julie Dearorff wrote on Monday about the dangers of running your first marathon through charity organizations. Deardorf reports that while charities often provide training programs for runners, their programs are often lacking.

Still, according to Deardorff, charities may be the only way to sign up for the Chicago marathon past deadline.

For those out there thinking of joining a charity run, the Tribune offers these training tips:

*Respect the distance: 26.2 miles.

*Choose a charity that helps a cause you feel a connection with emotionally. That will give you added motivation.

*Make sure you can raise the money or donate it yourself. Otherwise you won’t get your race number.

*If you can’t run 6 miles right now, consider signing up with a charity that offers a winter or spring event, rather than a fall marathon.

*Get race experience. Do a half-marathon before trying a marathon.

*If you’re training with a group, find someone with similar goals and abilities. If you don’t like the group, seek another or download programs online. The official marathon training program, which is run by Nike, is free.

SALUDE: Healthing Through the Arts/Radio Art Website

Check out this audio piece by Radio Arte reporter Jonathan Bucio on sex ed workshops geared toward Chicago’s Hispanic community: Download Jonathan Bucio - Neighborhood Group Talks About Health

Radio Arte is a Latino public radio station owned by the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.  Bucio’s report is part of Radio Arte’s SALUD: Healing Through the Arts program which brings community youths together to use art to explore the connection between immigration and health.

Listen to Bucio’s report to see how SALUD is gearing its sex ed. workshops to the Latino community.

It made me think of a post I did a few weeks ago where I interviewed water expert Josh Ellis about the water situation in Illinois.   Mind you, Illinois isn’t running out of water, but Bolinas, Calif. is an example of what you have to do when the wells start to go dry.

The report includes these tips from Bolinas-Stinson Elementary School students:

• put a bucket in the shower and use that to flush the toilet
• don’t leave faucets running while your brushing your teeth
• bring a water bottle to school because when you drink out of the drinking fountain, 25 percent of the water goes down the drain
• if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down

madame.impossible/Flckr

NBC Chicago reported yesterday on possible health risks related to skinny jeans.

Meralgia paresthetica, or “tingling thigh syndrome”, can cause pain and numbness in thights and is often brought about by constant pressue on a sensory nerve in your thigh.  According to the story, the condition is common among construction workers, police officers, pregnant women, obese people and apparently also fashionistas.

Spotted: a mountain of scrap metal on North Avenue just east of the river.  If anyone out there knows where the mounain is going/where it’s coming from, please share!

Baby birds. Nicole Cohen/Good for You

A local bird made a nest in the (burned-out) lamp outside my apartment.  These are her babies.  She sat on a roof next door with a worm hanging out of her mouth.  Waiting for me to go away.

Last night, Chicago Tonight remembered the deadlist plane crash in U.S. history.  American Arilines flight 191.

The whole thing reminds me of the painting over of the famed Virgin Mary salt stain under the Kennedy Expressway earlier this year.

So what do we think?  Art?  Miracle?  Or simply defacement?