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One-night stand We wanted to tell you about the best cheap seats at Wrigley—sections 417–424 that run $26–$52, or 516–18 and 523–525 for $11–$22, which give you a bird’s-eye view from behind home plate—but those can be hard to snag. Instead, tell your professor you’re missing his early morning lecture for a higher calling: standing in line at 8am on weekdays (9am on weekends) for the 1,000 or so standing-room-only tickets ($15) that go on sale after all other seats are sold. Key info: Tickets are limited to two per customer. —Tim McCormick

Cubs care about parking If you don’t mind a short walk, you’ll have no problem finding parking for Cubs day games. There’s plenty of street parking near Addison Street and Ashland Avenue, especially along the side roads west to Ravenswood Avenue, south to Roscoe Street and north to Grace Street. During weekends, Hamilton Elementary School at Cornelia Avenue and Marshfield Street has tons of diagonal spots in its street-side lot; as long as it’s not during school hours, you’ll be fine. Night games are a bit of a problem—the aforementioned neighborhood becomes permit-only on Cubs evenings. So head to DeVry (3300 N Campbell Ave), where they’re serious about success…fully parking your car. Six buckaroos gets you a spot in their lot and on Wrigley Field’s free shuttle. —Steve Heisler

Sox to be you It’s only a matter of time before the city realizes the South Side games are a blast, too, and Sox tickets will be as hard to come by as a seat at Wrigley (don’t laugh…it could happen). The solution: Show up when the ticket office opens (10am) and score premium lower-box seats ($51–$65) that aren’t typically found online. —Tim McCormick

Skip the casting couch Ever look at the background talent in movies and think, I could do that? Well, yes, you can. Call the Chicago Film Office extras casting hotline (312-814-9605) for information on which films are seeking talent in Chicago and how you can get involved. You’ll need a head shot, but a few years back I got away with using a blown-up photo my roommate took. And yes, you work 16-hour days, stand around for 15 of those hours, eat cold, brown food and are discouraged from engaging the stars. But it’s worth it to be immortalized on the silver screen—even if, like me, it’s in The Lake House.—Steve Heisler

Beat the street Avoid high-priced parking in Streeterville by taking advantage of the free, two-hour valet parking deal at Fox & Obel (401 E Illinois St, 312-410-7301). Sure, you’ll want to buy a treat from the gourmet market and café when you go in to get your ticket validated, but the area’s sky-high garage rates (including $23 at Navy Pier) make that a sweet sacrifice. —Frank Sennett

Crater hater Your beloved old Impala’s shocks aren’t what they used to be, and you’ve just taken a hit from one of Chicago’s nastiest potholes. Was that the sound of your axle cracking? Never fear, the city’s got your back. Surprising, but true: The city will reimburse you for half of that car damage. The catch? Better have the paperwork in order or it’s a no-go. Do these things, in this order: File a police-department damage report, take photos of your jacked-up car, get at least two written estimates for repairs, provide a copy of a paid bill for the damage and hightail it over to chicityclerk.com/claims.php. Take care of all that and—judging from approval rates in recent years—you’ve got better than a 60 percent chance of getting half of that busted rim or popped Pirelli paid for. —John Dugan

Missed connection with good seats You: Twentysomething girl in jeans, with a messenger bag and ironic grandma glasses. Me: Dude in shorts and Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind T-shirt. I saw you waiting in line for TMLMTBGB. You were ahead of me by a few people, but I felt as if we shared some eye contact. I would’ve said hello once we got into the preshow holding room, but my plan was to walk right to the front. See, you’d think people would queue up in order, but instead they mill about. So I just walked over and camped out by one of the theater entrances, guaranteeing myself great seats once the house opened. You ended up in the last row—sucks for you. Coffee? —Steve Heisler

Chinatown Italiano These days, people flock to Chinatown annually for the Lunar New Year Parade, but as recently as the ’70s, it was the St. Rocco Parade that brought crowds to that neighborhood. Although you can still watch a smaller version of the religious procession make its way down Wentworth Avenue on August 17, other traces of the neighborhood’s once staunchly Italian flavor are harder to uncover: Tucked away on a quiet side street is St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church (218 W Alexander St), where church officials say a life-size crucifix was donated by Al Capone’s mother in hopes of saving his soul. Priests still deliver Mass there in Italian—as well as Mandarin, Cantonese and Indonesian. —Martina Sheehan

Sit on it Want a seat on the El during morning rush hour? We’ve got a couple tips for ya, lazybones. If you get onto the southbound Red or Brown Lines north of Belmont, hover in the aisle (rather than near the doors). At Belmont, someone’s bound to get up to transfer lines, and that’s when you swoop in and plop down your sorry carcass. On other lines, your best bet is to profile your fellow riders: Parents with kids and anyone who looks too relaxed to be going to work are likely seat donors. —Ruth Welte

Locked up below The (nonunified) network of subterranean passages that makes up the downtown underground pedway covers an area of 40 blocks. Seth Nelson, who blogs about the pedway’s subterranean joys at undergroundchicago.com, says that beyond convenience stores and a Dairy Queen, the pedway also houses a holding cell for the Daley Center’s courts. Sure enough, a call to the traffic court confirms this. “The lock-up is on the concourse level,” says our anonymous source. “If you are coming from the Blue Line [Washington stop], walk through the pedway to the Daley Center, make a right; there’s a Sheriff’s security checkpoint there, and lockup is right behind.” Getting out, of course, isn’t so easy. —John Dugan

Lofty goals The best way to find out about 11th-hour loft parties, such as a Crystal Castles DJ set in Humboldt Park? Get to know the people who throw these things. Subscribe to text-message and e-mail lists for promoters such as Avant Trill, Hilary Rawk, James Lauer and Kompute and get first crack at the supersecret party world. Lauer and Rawk often promote via Going.com, so get signed up there. Next best thing? Check out MySpace and hopscotch along venue profiles for Gator Loft, Fuck Mountain and People Projects for the latest parties, then hit ADD FRIEND.—John Dugan

Power to the people Cell phone dying and stuck on the subway? Snag a wall-facing seat on the opposite side of the motorman’s cab and look (or feel around) for the AC power outlet on the lower right side of the bench. CTA trains only have one double outlet in each car, and it’s covered by a metal plate that looks like an ashtray. But plug in at your own risk: The outlets, reportedly powered by the train’s third rail, are prone to surges while trains are moving, so you could possibly fry your gadget or charger. But hey, life’s a gamble. —John Dugan

Soundman’s sweet spots Soma Electronic Music Studios sound engineer Tim Iseler tells us his technique for getting the best listening experience. “I find that for the ‘best’ sound, I make an isosceles triangle between a pair of PA speakers and myself. By moving forward or backward, you should be able to find a good blend between the PA, the band and the room. Also, standing near the front-of-house mixing area is usually a good idea, since you’ll be close to the person who’s deciding what does and doesn’t sound good in the room.” —John Dugan

Green scenes If you’re looking for an eyeful of greenery, and the Art Institute’s side courts just don’t give you that “secret garden” feeling anymore, head south to the vegetable garden in Grant Park. Plopped down in the middle of an unmarked grassy stretch just south of Van Buren Street and just west of Columbus Drive, the gardens are lush with basil, salad greens, pole beans and tomatoes. They’re destined for farmers’ markets and food pantries, but surely nobody would miss one purloined bean? Anyway, we’ve never been caught. Outside the Loop, there’s Indian Boundary Park (2500 W Lunt Ave, 773-764-0338), which has a pond and, no kidding, a tiny zoo with goats, ducks and chickens; Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool (south of Fullerton Avenue, directly north of the Lincoln Park Zoo), a hidden enclave with a wooden pavilion and a waterfall; and the gorgeous Japanese-style Osaka Garden in Jackson Park (5800 S Lake Shore Dr), south of the Museum of Science and Industry. —Ruth Welte

Dune it traffic-free Heading to the Indiana Dunes and wanna bypass the Ryan/Skyway traffic? Take scenic Lake Shore Drive south, following US-41 signs through the South Side. Just over the Indiana border, 41 connects with Routes US-12/US-20; take that road (which becomes picturesque after Gary) straight to the Dunes—only 75 traffic-free minutes from the Loop. You’re welcome. —Gretchen Kalwinski

Name game Band aliases are all the rage. R.E.M. has been known to play (and issue press releases) as Bingo Handjob and Hornets Attack Victor Mature. Supergrass tested its new material last year in small clubs and the London Apple store as the Diamond Hoo Ha Men, the Arctic Monkeys released a single as the Death Ramps last year and Green Day took up the secret identity of Foxboro Hot Tubs for an album and tour in May. Chicago bands also have a tradition of playing under aliases when it suits them—these days, punk-rockers the Mannequin Men sometimes go as the Dead Kids. Wilco played its first gig ever in 1994 under the fake name Black Shampoo—but it’s unlikely Tweedy and Co. would use it again. Rule of thumb: If an absurd band name pops up on a reputable venue’s schedule that you can’t connect to a real band, it could very well be a big act in disguise. —John Dugan