Mr. Robot, Don’t Drop My Burrito
The first time I saw a robot delivery vehicle on a sidewalk was last summer on (West) Grand Avenue in Chicago (where else?) This little guy was trundling along near May Street and I thought he was going to stop by D'Amato’s for a fresh roll because he paused to turn north and then—-
He stopped.
And waited.
After about a minute, the robot continued north on May, followed by folks with their smart phones documenting his every move. That’s a lot of pressure for a new-to-Chicago robot just trying to delivery some convenience items in a convenient fashion.
Understandably, lots of folks are aggrieved by these lil’ devices making their way through select Chicago neighborhoods to drop off UberEats orders and other such time-sensitive goods. Lincoln Park resident Josh Robertson started a petition to ask the city to pause the robot delivery pilot program and to facilitate more of a public conversation around the possible expansion of their operations into other Chicago communities.
So far, the petition has received almost 4,000 signatures and well over 950 folks have written into the site’s Google Form to report various “incidents” involving these roving delivery devices—most of them involving their blocking some, all, or part of the sidewalk as part of their appointed rounds.
To my mind, sidewalks are for people first, and every other type of vehicle (bikes, e-bikes, pogo sticks, delivery vehicle) simply must play second or third fiddle to actual flesh and blood human beings trying to make their way around town. Now, if you’re a private company with deep pockets and some mad VC cash, I’m sure you would disagree—how else can you make literal space for these robots?
For a point of comparison, the city of Chicago only officially legalized sidewalk signs for local businesses in 2022. This was after years and years of advocacy from a number of aldermen working in tandem with a range of small business advocacy groups—and it remains a controversial measure as people complain about not having enough sidewalk space to safely use strollers, wheelchairs, and other mobility devices.
We are at the very beginning of these types of new sidewalk “uses” and it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the long term. I’m trying to remain hopefully that sidewalks, which remain vital public spaces and places where humans take priority.
And in case you are wondering, I looked at the ServeRobotics FAQ page and I learned that the robots are not allowed to accept tips.
Whew, I was worried there for a minute.
Bingo, That’s It.
Do you remember the last time you played bingo?
B-I-N-G-O.
This clarion call goes out across the United States and beyond thousands of times a day—-maybe in a social hall, maybe in a classroom, maybe in a retirement facility.
This past year, I rediscovered bingo in a big way.
I had been looking for a way to bring folks into the conversation in my classroom, my public talks, and my presentations. Sure, I’m an engaging public speaker, but I was still looking for a way to keep people attentive and interested.
And let’s face it: I face very stiff competition from a vast array of devices, including smartphones.
On a whim a few months ago, I went to freebingocardgenerator dot com (not the real site, let’s be clear) and started creating a free bingo card to highlight key facets of a talk I was giving on public art in American cities.
Type, type, click, type, click, type, click, type, click, voila—-a bingo card.
This ur-bingo card generated conversation at my talk and folks wanted to discuss why certain items were on the card, along with offering their own commentary on the art and science of bingo card creation.
It’s wild how the old ways are sometimes the best ways.
Chicago in the 1990s: A Look Back
What’s the first book I ever received as a present?
I could not tell you.
I do know that I have always been obsessed with guidebooks.
Probably because my family did not travel much, alas.
When asked by the Chicago Public Library to research a talk on what Chicago was like in the early 1990s, I dug through my guidebook collection and my own 30 plus year history in the city—it took me back as I thought about what has changed within the city’s urban fabric and the general milieu in the Loop and beyond.
Hope you enjoy my talk.
Public art continues to generate a fair amount of controversy—-in my mind, that’s a good thing.
There is nothing worse than seeing people walk by a mural, sculpture, or installation and then seeing those same people keep on walking without a pause or even a glance.
In my professional and personal life, I spend a great deal of time thinking about what people think and feel about public art. To my mind, it’s an endlessly fascinating topic.
Chicago has certainly had its fair share of public art controversies, particularly as regards art that addresses the city’s usually chaotic political culture.
In this talk for the Chicago Public Library, I excavate and explore some of the city’s well-known and lesser-known public art controversies.
Brother, Can You Spare A Typewriter?
Here we are—the sixth installment in my Beyond Borders series for the Chicago Public Library takes us to Devon Avenue.
I hope you’ll enjoy the tour, but before you begin that excursion, a personal story from me about Devon Avenue.
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Sweaty——is Chicago always this sweaty in early October?
I’m walking down Devon Avenue this fall 1994 day with my college girlfriend’s roommate. We have made the trek north from Hyde Park (a bus, the El, and another bus) to purchase a variety of South Asian candies for a dorm party.
I have known my girlfriend’s roommate for a total of five weeks——not once has she failed to mention her SAT scores and her extracurriculars in any conversation we’ve had together. She’s from one of the city far-flung suburbs and she’s majoring in biology.
We have walked past California Avenue on Devon after oh, 20 minutes or so, and it is clear she has no idea where we are going. “I think the place is called Patel Brothers” she says. We continue to walk west and I saw an honorary street sign that reads “GOLDA MEIR DRIVE”. Interesting that only a few blocks back, there was an honorary street sign for Gandhi.
I love an Important World Leader street sign mash-up.
It is clear that she does not want to ask anyone for assistance, so I duck into the next storefront to get some locational information on this Patel Brothers place.
Walking into what appears to be a houseware store slash old dinner plate emporium slash electronics junkyard, I find the need to catch my visual bearings—I was getting a big Grey Gardens vibe from this place——is that Big Edie in the corner fawning over Jackie Kennedy’s doilies?
I turned my head to the left slowly and I found a man with a broad smile and a yarmulke giving me the once-over.
“Young man, what brings you here today?“
I wanted to be glib and say “Well, first the number six bus from Hyde Park and then”
No, no, no, that’s just too goofy.
“Oh, I am just here with my friend looking for a place that sells—
“We have many things for sale here—and we buy too! I’m Morry and this is my store—as you can see, this place has a bit of everything.“
Yes, he was most definitely right. I did see an old Kenwood turntable under what appeared to be a set of Japanese knives and thought that—
“You like that Kenwood, my young friend?”
I did and I told him so.
“$25 and I’ll throw in some small speakers.”
This deal was too good to be true—what luck, as I just so happened to have a vinyl copy of Duke Ellington’s “Jazz Party” LP back in my dorm.
Morry was kind enough to put my items in a very durable Jewel bag and I was on my way in a few minutes.
Upon exiting Morry’s shop, my friend had grown a bit impatient—and I cannot say that I blame her.
“What took you so long?”, she queried.
“Oh, I had to buy a used record player.“
“Did you get any information about Patel Brothers?”
I thought about what to tell her. I mean, yeah, I should have asked about Patel Brothers—wasn’t that the point of me going into the store?
I blurted out “No, I didn’t. But isn’t it cool that he gave me free speakers?“
She did not speak to me much after that.