Went to a lecture this afternoon on the work of Irving K. Pond, whom none of you have ever heard of. Neither had I, until I saw the announcement of this program! He was a Chicago architect, trained by William LeBaron Jenney, was a friend of Jane Addams, built the town of Pullman, and did some houses in my neighborhood. Architect David Swan ( Read more... )

All of the titles in the Stahl's Illustrated Series are designed to be fun.

And what is this fun book?

( Memorial Day Weekend - Sunday & Monday )

You may recall that a couple of months ago, I mentioned being at a film and running into a woman who had been in my college graduating class. We ran into each other again at the opera a couple of weeks ago, and said, "Let's do something after the next opera." The next opera was last Sunday, and we had drinks and dinner afterward, and really hit ( Read more... )

( The Cultural Stuff )

Wednesday night, my friends and I went to the Goodman to see a play called "Gas for Less" (yea, really, that's what it's called). It was about an independent gas station on the far north side of Chicago, and it's going under. The play is set on two dates in late 2005, and much of it revolves around the guys watching Bears football games. I'm ( Read more... )

Yesterday afternoon, I went to hear Chicago Opera Theatre's performance of John Adams' A Flowering Tree, which is based on an Indian folk tale involving a poor girl who has the ability to transform into a flowering tree. The Storyteller, who narrates, is actually the largest role, and much of the "opera" is really dance with a sung narration. ( Read more... )