Month: November 2025

Urinetown

What would you think about the musical with the name like that?

Yes, I thought the same, especially after reading the short description about the town where people were required to pay for the usage of the toilets, and how they decided to resist. I thought it might be just a comedy show, and I was going to skip it (ad not to subscribe to Theo at all this season), but my friend MaryAnn said she wanted to go, and I always use any opportunity to meet with her. And as it almost always happen to me, I went without prior reading about it.

Well, it was anything but what I thought. Very sad, very political, sort of hopeless by the end. I think I will discover something new till the day I die.

One of the great things about Theo is that they absolutely ignore the “official line”, and still do what they believe is right:

About the show itself. The built a lot of temporary constructs inside the theater, and everything looks amazing:

Below are official pictures from the Theo website, and I hope they will post some videos, and then I will be able to repost.

I was glad to spend time with MaryAnn; we stayed a little bit longer after the show, and she drove me home, and we talked in her car, and a little bit more.

ZooLights 2025

I never went to ZooLights in the Lincoln Park Zoo until last year, and last year I went because my friend Y. asked me to go with her, but then she canceled, so Igor and I went. This fall, I was researching summer camps for next summer, and found that Lincoln Zoo has some, and I decided to become a member. I never thought of joining the Lincoln Zoo, because the admission is free, and I do not need parking. But this year I realized, that the membership cost is very low, and you have access to member-only events, like the opening night of the ZooLights.

I got my free tickets, and invited Y., and this time, she was able to join me. I think that the pictures are better this year not only because I have a better phone, but also because I had a better experience overall. My only bad experience was getting back home. I was very lucky to get from work to the zoo just in 40 minutes, becuase both buses arrived on time, but on the way back, there was no promise of the bus for the next 30 minutes. I hailed Uber, but as usual, they mixed up how to get to the right entrance, and it was all not that much faster.

Anyway, here are some pictures and videos – enjoy!

Matter Does Not Disappear

Last Saturday, my neighbor R. asked me whether I saw her Amazon package: she saw a deliver photo, but when she came home, the package was not there. I didn’t see anything, so I couldn’t help her, but then, a similar thing happened to me: I received notification about delivery, but when I came back home, there was nothing. I even walked to the adjacent building to check their lobby, because sometimes, we receive their items and vise versa, but I saw through the glass door that their mailroom floor was empty.

Mine was rather expensive delivery (from Apple), and in addition, the item was personalized, so naturally, I was rather upset, and blamed myself for not texting R. and not asking her to pick up the package, and for being so careless, etc. Next, since the photo showed multiple parcels, I decided to email our condominium mailing list. I rarely do that, but I felt like that was a good reason.

My neighbor R., who’s package was missing two days earlier, followed up with her email, and about 10 minutes later, one of the adjacent building residents responded: there was a pile of packages in our mailroom today! Even though I already checked them, I went back one more time, and this time, entered the building. There was nothing on the floor, but when I looked up, I saw to packages on the first landing up, and guess what – those were my and my neighbor’s packages. I picked them up, returned to our building, and emailed a thank-you note, saying that it would never occur to me to go one flight up. The person, who pointed me originally to the right direction, replied:

We always walk them up.  Till they make their way home.  I saw a bunch and wasn’t sure who was who.  Glad you got them!

Having that both myself and R. are on the third floor, it would take a while until people would realize it was the wrong building!

Revolution(s) At Goodman

I am writing this post during the intermission, sitting in the first row of the Owen Theater in Goodman.

I am glad I decided to go, and made time to see the one before last performance,

I am glad I went on my own, not inviting any of my girlfriends.

The play is extremely loaded. A part of me wants to leave and not watch the second act, because I think it will be even more intense, but I won’t.

I worked from home today, so that I could see mom after work, and still go to Goodman. That scenario worked surprisingly well, so I think I will be doing it sometimes.

I am glad I am here. The second act is about to begin, unveiling a drama that’s way too close to what’s happening on the streets outside the theater. It’s a call for action, but I am not sure which one.

Digital ID

Starting from yesterday, digital IDs are in use in Illinois, and guess who was clicking on their Apple Wallet starting at 7 AM, waiting for a new option to appear!

And guess, who already has it approved 😊

Meetups (My Second, Third, And Whatever Jobs)

On Tuesday, I hosted a Prairie Postgres meetup (blog post here)

And today, there was an ACM Chicago Chapter meetup, AI and Gamification: Why Students Cheat and How to Rebuild Learning. 🙄

Actually, it was not bad at all; although no revolutionary ideas. The more I listen to “what should we do with AI” presentations, the more I feel like absolutely nothing new happens in this area, and the scare of AI is very similar to the scare of inventing books, movies, television and internet:). The reason for posting is a rare group photo of almost all of the ACM Chicago Chapter Board (plus the presenter, and plus the Student Chapter leaders).

There were some interesting comments and discussions, but I am so much behind on my posts, that this will have to wait for later 🙂

Rogers Park: The Movie

Now tell me, why I didn’t know about this movie?! I dropped everything I was doing (and trust me, I had enough to do!) and started watching! (That was on Sunday, and I just finished it)

Watch here!

The Youth On The Other Side

And from the opposite side of political spectrum. I didn’t save the link to the Time article, but here is the text:

Boston University student who claimed credit for reporting car wash workers to immigration authorities earned the praise of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the ire of his fellow students in recent days.

Zac Segal, who is the president of the university’s College Republicans club, said he had “been calling ICE for months” about workers at the Allston Car Wash, near the university campus, while sharing an article about federal agents detaining nine workers on Nov. 4.

“This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals,” he wrote on X on Nov. 7. “As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here. Pump up the numbers!”

Read more: The Trump Administration Escalates Its Battle With Sanctuary Cities: What to Know

Todd Pomerleau, a lawyer representing the workers at Allston Car Wash, said they had valid work permits but did not have time to retrieve them from the locker room before they were detained. Pomerleau said in a statement that the car wash was raided with “military-style” vehicles by armed and masked agents, according to the New York Times. One of the individuals arrested had been in the United States for 30 years, Pomerleau said.

Segal said he had received death threats in response to his post, and reposted, without comment, posts from other Boston University students that called him a “racist,” “fascist,” and a “Neo-Nazi.”

The BU College Democrats condemned Segal’s actions and said that for “the foreseeable future,” they would not collaborate with the university’s College Republicans club.

Meanwhile, the Republican club’s national group—the College Republicans of America—defended Segal, and recommended that other young Republicans follow his lead.

“We call on all College Republicans to follow in the lead of this great patriot and notify their local ICE forces of any suspected illegal activity in their communities immediately,” Martin Bertao, the national group’s president, said in a statement to the New York Times.

The clash over the raid on Boston University’s campus and beyond highlighted the deep political divide between Democrats and Republicans over President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.  

Segal, who did not respond to TIME’s request for comment, defended his actions in a post on X on Friday.

“I reported suspicious activity to law enforcement because that is what any American should do. My intention was simple: to protect my community and uphold the rule of law,” he said. 

“Extremists have circulated my personal details online and sent death threats. No matter who you are or what you believe, threats and intimidation are unacceptable and should be condemned by everyone,” he added. 

Many mistakenly believed Segal was British because a biography on the university’s athletics website stated he was born in the United Kingdom. Segal said in his Friday post that he was born in Florida and raised in the U.K.

The official DHS account on X responded to Segal’s post with one word: “Patriot.”

But the DHS told TIME the raid was not launched as a result of Segal’s tip.

“The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence—not your silly rumor,” DHS spokesperson Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement. 

Last Call For Cookies!

Christmas Time – Cookie Time!

Restoring Justice After The “Blitz”

From WBEZ News:

The 615 detainees are from a list of roughly 1,800 arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Chicago area between June 11 and Oct. 7, and there could be more to come, Jon Seidel reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.

It’s not clear how many of the people covered by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings’ order remain in the country. The judge said he doesn’t want anyone released who poses a risk to public safety; he’s giving the Justice Department a chance to identify any such person.

But Cummings said he’s trying to restore the status quo that existed before the Trump administration recently changed its interpretation of immigration law. That policy shift imposed mandatory detention on people across the country who previously would have been given a chance for a bail hearing.

Agents detained many of the people while they were working, including 20 landscapers and four ride-share or taxi drivers. Seven were also arrested at an “immigration-related hearing,” Cummings said, and another 11 in public places like a park, gas station or Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru.