Next month, Time Out’s guides division will publish a cool book called The World’s Greatest Cities. On a related note, they are inviting readers around the globe to rank their favorite cities both at home and abroad. I’m reliably informed that Chicago does have a worthy spot in the book, which features 75 cities, but shouldn’t we also show the world how great we are with this poll? When you show your travel savvy and civic pride by taking the survey, you also will be entered to win one of 10 copies of this handsome new edition. So what are you waiting for? Get clicking!

It’s been only one day since the music community and the world at large lost the cultural icon that was Michael Jackson. From tweets to Facebook status messages, to Wolf Blitzer’s soirée into a historical analysis on Jackson’s societal impact, the sudden loss hangs heavy over Americana just one day after the fact.

Chicago’s theWit Hotel (201 N. State St.) pays respects with a lobby “shrine” honoring the late “King of Pop.” A portrait-size black and white photo of MJ rests on a small table draped in black cloth, with nearly two dozen votive candles surrounding the alter. Eerie and odd, yet with good intentions, I think. Perhaps a coincidental metaphor for Jackson’s reputation in later years?

For a week, the hotel will be balancing the somber mood of the memorial with the moonwalking icon’s music pumping through the lobby speakers. On the memorial table lies a small sign that reads “theWit remembers the King of Pop – a true American Wit.” Obviously, brand promotion is key even in moments of sorrow.

Chicagoans can visit the memorial 24 hours a day over the next week.

Last night, a few Time Out Chicago staffers hit Trump Tower’s 16th floor Terrace opening. The much-anticipated alfresco patio seats a scant 75 but is totally worth a wait (no reservations allowed) for the view alone: You can almost reach out and touch Wrigley Tower’s clock; below that, the river peacefully unfolds into the lake. Some Sun-Times staffers in attendance enjoyed the made-over space but pooh-poohed the view, saying they had seen it when their headquarters existed on the current Trump Tower plot. I’m sure they all had lovely corner offices. Additionally, the patio scores points for its affordable menu—oysters on the half shell ($12), “Cuban” nachos ($16)—and scrumptious cocktails ($14). My personal fave? The Bon Voyage, a spicy drink made with Michigan-distilled cherry vodka, cayenne-infused syrup and sour mix. Another plus: The Get editor Kevin Aeh informed me that the cute peach shirts worn by wait staff were created by two local designers—Anna Fong and Nicholas Joseph Custom Tailors.

The Terrace (401 North Wabash Ave, 16th floor) is now open daily 4–11pm, but we suggest heading there on a Wednesday or Saturday, for an unbeatable view of Navy Pier’s fireworks.

I took my first trip to Kohler, Wisconsin, a dozen years ago, when I booked my then-girlfriend (now wife) into the American Club. It was our first trip together, so that one-night stay was significant beyond just marveling at the amazing Kohler fixtures in the resort rooms. So when Kohler invited me to check out its Festival of Beer over Memorial Day weekend, I was intrigued to see the place again.

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The press release reads “Book ANY flight, hotel, package or car today on BookIt.com® and you qualify to receive a FREE* BlackBerry® or other smartphone or music phone of your choice.” There’s some fine print involved—basically you’ll have to sign up for a two-year service plan or renew your current wireless service plan with one of the four major carriers—but this offer from BookIt.com looks otherwise legit. It’s not a mail-in rebate, for one thing.  To tell the truth—I’m slightly annoyed—I just went on a trip where I booked all three car, hotel and flight and no one offered me a must-have gadget at any point during the trip.

“What’s cool to do around here?” isn’t a question I have much need to ask around this city, thanks to a certain weekly magazine. So upon arriving in Time Out-less Minneapolis on Saturday, I was stoked to get to play tourist.

I immediately tossed the question out to the friendly man behind the reception as I checked in to Graves 601 Hotel. “Our new bar is doing some really new kinds of drinks, called mixology,” he replied. After a six-hour car-ride (there was a slight Madison detour involved), this was the rare instance in which the use of the word “mixology”—when plain old drinking is all it is to me—didn’t make my stomach turn. I headed straight for the hotel’s bar: Bradstreet Crafthouse, which opened in late January.

Scanning the menu, my eyes stopped on a gin concoction called a “Juliet & Romeo.” Where had I seen that before? Awakening from my road-induced haze, droppers filled with housemade bitters came into view. And then, I saw it: perfect orbs of ice the size of tennis balls, snuggled inside stemware. Sure, there are plenty of bars in this country that take cocktails seriously, but something here was just too familiar, and another glance at the oddly familiar drink list confirmed my suspicions. I had traveled 400 miles from Wicker Park, and I had come to a place where a man said the word “mixology” without any smirking or cynicism whatsoever—but somehow, I had ended up at the Violet Hour.

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Feeling lonely? A just-announced special rate at the Blackstone hotel should entice your friends and family to come and visit you in Chicago, despite the blah economy. Now through April 30 (while availability lasts), the Loop-located hotel is offering a special “Stay in the black” nightly room rate of $99. When I checked out the newly refurbished historic landmark for a staycation hotel roundup over the summer, I was smitten with the graceful marriage of modern decor and old-school architecture and fixtures. This $99 rate is a steal. For a rez, call 312-447-0955 and mention the deal, or visit blackstonerenaissance.com.

Read more about The Blackstone hotel refurbishment.

I’m heading to Beantown to run the Boston Marathon in April and after recently surfing for tix on kayak.com, I was alarmed to discover 1) there are no direct flights from Midway (which is so fast and easy to get to from the Loop), and 2) direct flights from O’Hare to Boston are really pricey. But on the heels of announcing it hopes to start service to NYC’s Laguardia Airport late this spring, today Southwest Airlines announced it will fly to Boston’s Logan Airport starting this fall.

That won’t help me as I figure out my April travel plans, but still, I’m psyched. Since most of my family is spread between Kansas City and Philadelphia–two hub cities for the airline–I’ve racked up some serious frequent flier miles over the years and spent a lot of time on Southwest planes. And in my (non-scientific) experience Southwest flights are on-time most of the time, the flight attendants are really nice (hey, it matters) and, most important, the airline’s fares are reasonable and the pricing is totally transparent: Book early and pay less. As far as I’m concerned, the more places they fly, the better.

According to Forbes, a magazine that I believe was founded by Rich Uncle Pennybags, we Chicagoans live in the third most miserable city in the United States. Considering I work at a weekly magazine which covers hundreds of cultural events, dozens of new restaurants, independent films that you can, like, watch in a real movie theater, the world’s greatest symphony orchestra, etc., I feel the need to state the obvious:

Are you fucking kidding? Flint, Michigan is #6! You’re saying Flint, Michigan, is a cheerier place than Chicago? There’s no Time Out Flint, but let me give you a quick hypothetical breakdown of an issue of TOF: First up in Eat Out, we compare the hush puppies at the three local Long John Silver’s. Over in Music we continue with part 54 of our ongoing retrospective of local icon Grand Funk Railroad. Finally, in Cars, our Self Defense editor settles the debate: “Glad or Hefty? The Better Window Replacement.”

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The Chicago Office of Tourism launched a new tourism website yesterday at a Millennium Park press conference that seemed to say “See, the weather’s not that bad here.” And while they were wrong  (hello, sub-zero temps!), the tourism website, dubbed Explore Chicago, looks pretty darn good. Mostly promoting city-run venues (Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Tourism Center, Millennium Park, etc), the site also doles out travel tips and information on 70 neighborhoods and their institutions.

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