Where can you find an airline seat wide enough for a bigger booty? Or dress shirts that fit comfortably around a thicker neck? How about a plus-size ballet? Ladies and gentlemen, let us introduce  www.PlusSizeYellowPages.com. PlusSizeYellowPages.com provides a list of activities, resources, health products, fitness options, and clothing sources for plus-size women, men, and children. It aims to “bridge the void between plus-size buyers and sellers to help plus-size people feel hope that they can find what they need for self-care and self-confidence.” Kelly Bliss, a lifestyle coach for plus-size women since 1986, created the site. The site offers coupons as well as a free download of the entire document. Paperback copies cost $27.10 (with shipping), and can be ordered at www.kellybliss.com.

You probably already know about the virtues of composting. But if you don’t have a backyard site for a compost pile, don’t try worming your way out of recycling your table scraps. Instead, try vermicomposting, a simple system in which worms do all the hard work. Even if you don’t have a garden to spread the compost on, you can put it at the bases of trees in your neighborhood. “The chance to participate in the overlooked part of the cycle of life—rot and decay leading to fertility and new life—is invaluable,” says former Chicagoan Jay Salinas, co-director and commercial urban agriculture coordinator for Growing Power Milwaukee. The non-profit organization inspires communities to build sustainable food systems that ...

Since September 11, 2001, the world has accumulated several versions of the day’s events, including the official report issued in 2004 by President George W. Bush’s 9/11 Commission. While some feel the report was thorough, others believe it unleashed a virtual Pandora’s box brimming over with more questions. Inspired by the curiosity engendered by the report and the public debate surrounding it, Stanford alumnus and researcher Paul Thompson pieced together his own version of events. Using more than 5,000 facts and articles from public news media, Thompson created the Complete 911 Timeline, for which he was included in Esquire magazine’s “Genius” issue. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for all that information, check it out for ...

Green roofs, new trees, planters full of flowers. Evidence of Chicago going green is all around. Here are three prop-worthy innovations: I-GO cars. Why own a car when you can share one? For a $75 membership fee, you can join I-GO Car Sharing, a nonprofit company that has a special $25 membership program for college students. www.igocars.org Hybrid buses. The Chicago Transit Authority’s new diesel-electric hybrid buses reduce emissions up to 90 percent. As Echo goes to press, the CTA has 20 new hybrid buses and plans to buy 650 to replace its aged gas-powered fleet. www.transitchicago.com Solar-powered trash cans. The solar-powered batteries in the BigBelly Solar trash compactors allow a standard-size bin to hold 160 ...

While beauticians prep finicky prom queens, mortuary beauticians tend to the grooming and cleaning tasks of less animated clients. It’s facials versus facial fluids and bikini waxes versus rigor mortis. Echo asked aesthetician Nikki Cox of Chicago’s American Laser Centers and mortuary beautician Carrie Mowen of Michigan’s Mowen Funeral Home to explain the essentials of styling debutantes and the deceased. Mortuary Beautician Training: Growing up in a family business, Mowen watched her father embalm bodies and her mother prepare them for viewing. Products: Heavy chemical-based makeup, Kelmetics Creams. Biggest challenge: Body fluids leaking out of the nose, eyes and mouth after a sloppily stapled post-autopsy. Difficulties: Styling hair while the client is lying down and the follicles are starting to fall ...

You don’t have to be an audiophile to appreciate vinyl records. It’s arguable that the sound quality is better than CDs or MP3s, and the cover artwork is large enough to double as wall décor, but it’s also considerably cheaper if you’re looking to purchase classics in their tenth pressing. Chicago has a handful of well-known stores that stock vinyl, like Reckless Records, Dave’s Records, or (heaven forbid) Virgin Megastore; but to begin a truly stellar collection that won’t break your budget, Echo recommends rubbing elbows with the vinyl geeks in these lesser-known establishments. Crazy Man Records 1657 W. Division St. 773.489.9848 Three of the best vinyl stores in the city are in a six-block radius of Division Street and Ashland Avenue. Crazy Man ...