Are we going to be the reason stand-up will re-invade American television airwaves? Looks like the Just For Laughs folks picked Chicago for its upcoming annual festivals with some big overreaching goals in mind: "When our brand is well-known throughout Chicago, which I hope will happen within a couple of years, Just For Laughs is going to mean more as a stand-up franchise in the United States," says Bruce Hills, the company's chief operating officer, "maybe bringing us back to where we were when we were on HBO and Showtime all the time." (From the National Post, via Shecky Magazine.)

Vanity Fair: "Actually, women are funny." A few choice bits from the piece - Jerry Lewis: “I don’t like any female comedians.” Joan Rivers: "Men find funny women threatening. They ask me, ‘Are you going to be funny in bed?’ ”

From the CTA Tattler, an impressive tale of Chicago public service. CTA President Ron Huberman, true to his badass ex-cop self, threw an inappropriate jerk off the train at 7:30 in the morning. "Apparently, a misbehaving guy was making inappropriate comments to a woman...no one did anything and then out of nowhere Huberman stands up and gives the guy a glare and says, 'You're going to get off the train.' The guy talked back and Huberman kept repeating. The guy ended up getting out at Addison and Huberman followed him out."

-Elizabeth McQuern