tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64263272025-10-26T20:46:02.683-05:00Buildings, Trees, Sidewalks, Glue . . . . A Chicago, IL Blog Dispatched from the 43rd Ward on the Near North Side . . . Lincoln Park. 60614 . . . Blog in Urbs in Horto. Established 2004.Bowerbird Commhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845071651698646437noreply@blogger.comBlogger416125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-88098563440279613302012-11-25T15:52:00.005-06:002015-09-21T16:48:49.225-05:00

This blog ran between 2004 and 2007. In 2005, it was awarded the "Top 10 Chicago Bloggers We Wish We Knew (But Don't)" by Gaper's Block.  The last post was in 2007. Thank you to all who have read the blog and commented on it. I learned so much; I set out to understand what drove Jane Jacob's work and discovered my own.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-21176658168786791892007-11-03T03:40:00.001-05:002007-11-03T04:11:16.552-05:00

Effective today, I have "gone live" as the About.com Guide for Chicago Locals. You can find the site here. About.com is A New York Times Company, and I am pleased to have this opportunity. After three years of blogging here for "love and comments," (as Pound's Wendy McClure once described it), I will be paid to blog about Chicago.I'll be taking my e-mail address down from this site and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-60510103734279292462007-05-07T19:41:00.000-05:002007-05-07T20:43:48.935-05:00

"The month of May not only brings proverbial flowers, but it also brings back the sun worshippers, dog owners, baby jogger owners, sightseers and, unfortunately. . .trash. My husband and I volunteer for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and I serve as a beach captain for North Avenue Beach. We organize clean-ups five times a year. Our kick-off clean-up was on April 14 to coincide with Earth Day.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-66556452455539269152007-05-05T19:51:00.000-05:002007-05-07T06:23:34.889-05:00

I often find myself asking this question whenever the topic of the fire comes up.You hear about the devastation, the rebirth, the cow, but rarely do you ever hear about victims. That omission just doesn't fit with how Americans tend to relate to disasters, including historic ones.For instance, doesn't it seem like there would have been some notable memorial for the victims of the fire erected by

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-62900176124155870022007-05-04T20:53:00.001-05:002007-05-04T21:00:15.664-05:00

The artist and Old Town resident Jenny Roberts (whom I've blogged about before here and here) throws a No Parade tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, as part of the Lumpen Version 07 Festival. Read more about the No Parade here.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-24661844684409450322007-05-01T12:31:00.000-05:002007-05-01T13:10:54.845-05:00

Vi Daley's run-off election seemed to reveal a lot of issues with our community's organizations. If you check in with the comments still blazing on this blog's recent "Vi Daley" post, you'll see some of it.In my pre-election comments, I complained that I thought our community was sliced and diced into so many different groups and organizations that it didn't help foster a sense of community,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-7878289689583299562007-05-01T11:28:00.000-05:002007-05-01T12:29:06.828-05:00

I've got Band-aids on both big toes from walking the remarkable ArtChicago on Monday. What a visual feast!The Artist Project offered independent artists a seat at this sprawling art market's table.Many of them explored Chicago's urban and natural landscape as their subject matter. Here are two.William Dolan William Dolan's work is at right. The first painting is called "Blue Caprice. "The second

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-29606284074508569892007-04-28T13:29:00.000-05:002007-04-28T14:03:52.299-05:00

My older brother, John, lives in Brooklyn and helps run a tv lighting company called Liberty Lighting. In other words, he's a gaffer. And, he's really, really good at it. So good that Barbara Walters always hires him to light her for her interviews and feature shows. You can see her at left in this photo without his lighting.Occasionally, he sends us photos from his celebrity shoots, and I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-42789548799694050482007-04-27T14:12:00.000-05:002013-11-07T12:57:44.319-06:00

No corner in Lincoln Park better exemplifies the changing built landscape of this neighborhood than Howe and Armitage. That's where you'll find this little blue gem from 1886. It's dwarfed by the three-, four-, and five-lot palaces that have risen all around it. Now, it's a complete anomaly. Sadly, it's probably also awaiting its slaughter. It's been for sale at least since 2005 when I took

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-48255764492079793032007-04-26T14:43:00.000-05:002007-04-26T15:06:55.121-05:00

I'm already tired of hearing about the cicadas.I can't help but wonder if it's going to be a big nothing like Y2K was. You know, with global warming and all that. It's entirely possible the cicadas won't know to come out this year.The Trib adores the story. This morning's front page features an article by an oh-gosh bride who had envisioned a ceremony outside. But, oh yuck. "Can you imagine

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-291165857592785112007-04-26T11:52:00.000-05:002007-04-26T20:43:04.505-05:00

You guys rock. Thanks for all the comments blazing on my previous post while I took some more down time.Just a few more comments on Vi's re-election and what you've posted:- I wrote that people re-elected Vi due to her leadership and experience. I really don't know that. I was just giving her the benefit of the doubt. A more accurate statement would have been that voters decided to keep her

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-34819869380643017082007-04-18T09:36:00.000-05:002007-04-18T09:59:22.990-05:00

Well, Vi's victory last night was clearly decisive. No doubt about it. While her fellow incumbents fell to their spirited opponents or clung to their seats by a thread, Vi was way out ahead of Michele Smith. Clearly, voters felt her leadership and track record were worthy of her keeping her job.She raked in 4,347 votes to Smith's 3,798 with 98.31% of the vote in. (These numbers from the Trib

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-52130725136210690672007-04-17T21:52:00.000-05:002007-04-17T22:02:09.797-05:00

The 43rd ward election results seem to have ground to a stop. What gives? Here's the Trib's site. I'm going to bed. I'll see in the a.m. who is our alderman.Night, night. Sleep tight.Update: A-ha. Here's what's going on courtesy of the Trib.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-84483204724524267272007-04-17T20:04:00.000-05:002007-04-17T20:08:20.249-05:00

The Chicago Tribune is posting race results here. So far, Vi Daley leads Michele Smith 3242 to 2854 with 71.19% of the precincts reporting. Meanwhile, Ted Matlak and Joe Moore are trailing their challengers by inches. Stay tuned.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-42881762480758434722007-04-16T12:02:00.000-05:002007-04-16T12:51:10.653-05:00

The campaigning is fast and furious. E-mails from Tim Egan. Post-it notes on my front yard gate from Vi Daley. Neighbors from Old Town mailing on behalf of Michele Smith.Are you planning on voting tomorrow?I am one of those people who shows up at just about every election no matter what. I believed all that stuff in elementary school about how other countries wished they had a right to vote like

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-29592040637050682472007-04-11T15:05:00.000-05:002007-04-11T16:49:31.240-05:00

Well, here's a hint. Mr. The Place Where We Live and I have been out having a BLAST of the "wish you were here" variety.We also signed a contract on a home in a ward other than the fighting 43rd. It's a consuming process with inspections and all that, so I've missed a few of the main (in) fights and televisiony things going on between Michele Smith & Vi Daley.What have you heard lately? Who won

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-15996381161272372412007-03-22T12:07:00.000-05:002007-03-22T13:20:14.572-05:00

Before TPWWL heads out on spring break (totally, dudes), here is the latest in the 43rd aldermanic run-off that pits incumbent Vi Daley against Michele Smith. See you in April!Ms. Smith rung the bell of my home while out canvasing the neighborhood. She was kind enough to share her opinions about her positions and fill me in on the latest news from the campaign front as she sees it. Somewhere in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-59025459770675805352007-03-22T11:50:00.000-05:002007-03-22T12:06:23.674-05:00

Four-hundred and nine University of Chicago alumni submitted haiku poems for a contest sponsored by the University of Chicago Magazine. The poems had to be about the university somehow.Giuliana Fargnoli Champman, AB '96, won with this charming little number:Japanese touristsstanding around the Atomphotograph themselves

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-71990412794529263612007-03-16T08:24:00.000-05:002007-03-16T08:37:01.372-05:00

From the American Memory Collection of The Chicago Daily News. The archive description reads: "Four Irish relics related to St. Patrick on a table in the Field Museum in the Loop community area in Chicago, Illinois. 1907."He probably put them in the coat check while he was looking at the dinosaurs, and then, when he got back to Ireland, he found the stub in his wallet and went, "Oh, jeez."

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-28232748535899495642007-03-15T14:28:00.000-05:002007-03-15T15:00:32.652-05:00

Lucien Lagrange, the architect whom I've described previously (here) as a French man right out of Central Casting, will be hosting a preview of his newest project at 2520 N. Lakeview on Thursday, March 29 from 4 - 8 p.m.Is it possible to measure the mortgage by the menu? You tell me:Ruffled Smoked Salmon on Black Rye BreadMinted Cucumber Creme Fraiche and Fresh Mint Medium Rare Breast of Duck

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-68771951480913722942007-03-12T06:52:00.001-05:002007-03-12T07:04:42.014-05:00

Tim Egan e-mailed his statement about why he will be endorsing Vi Daley in the run-off. He entitled it, "A Vision for the Future."He writes:There is much to be said after experiencing the eye of the storm view in a campaign for Alderman in the City of Chicago. Educational is the first word I would use to describe two years plus on the “Chicago Stump.” Secondly, but most important, is the great

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-77780636612088461902007-03-10T08:56:00.000-06:002007-03-10T09:04:46.943-06:00

ABC Channel 7 reports here that Tim Egan is backing Vi Daley in the run-off. Hmmmm. Vi's reaction as quoted in the article:"I met with him and I think he ran a good campaign and he has some ideas that I will be working with him on."Opponent Michele Smith's reaction as quoted in the article:"The overwhelming majority of the voters voted for change. They responded to our campaign because it was

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-15484389106148553112007-03-08T17:36:00.000-06:002007-03-08T17:40:00.389-06:00

Lynn Becker reports here that the Farwell will be gutted. He writes,"In a a dazzling display of raw political power and overwhelming self-deception, The Society for the Protection of Wealthy Developers, formerly known as the ommission on Chicago Landmarks, voted this morning to demolish the landmark Farwell Building on North Michigan and remount the surviving elements of its facade on a new

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-50874445791264545902007-03-08T17:09:00.000-06:002007-03-08T17:17:46.442-06:00

Press 2 if you plan to vote for Michele Smith. (So we can write you off.)Press 3 if you are undecided. (So we can work on you.)Press 4 if you are not planning to vote in the election. (So we can ignore you.)When "the machine" quite literally called today, the robo voice identified herself as being with Vi's campaign. After I pressed 3, I was disconnected. No smoozy "Goodbye" or "Thank you." Just

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6426327.post-28209127262633744612007-03-07T18:23:00.000-06:002007-03-07T19:33:39.525-06:00

Although Tim expected to make a statement on Monday about his intentions for the run-off, I'm guessing that life has intervened and he's taking the time he needs to be with his family right now. Or, perhaps he's mulling over how he'd like to proceed. Maybe both.I'm sure he'll let us know what's up when he's good and ready.UPDATE: Here's the March 5 statement from Tim's campaign site, but that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1