Author: Hettie D.

My name is Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya. I was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russian (actually, back then – Leningrad, USSR) in 1963, and immigrated to the United States in 1996. I love Saint Petersburg, the city I was born and raised in, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Similarly (but differently) I love Chicago, and can’t imagine myself moving somewhere else in the observable future. I have three children, Igor, Vlad and Anna, all adults living on their own, and one (so far) granddaughter Nadia. I also believe that my children are the best thing that happened in my life. As for my professional life, I am working in the field of Information Technologies. When I was twenty, I’ve declared that the databases are the coolest thing invented and that I want to do them for the rest of my life. Thirty plus years later, I still believe it’s true, and still, believe that the databases are the best. These two statements together imply that I think a person can have it all, and indeed, I think so! Keep reading my journals to find out how I did it.

The Art Of The Benshi In Siskel

OMG, what I’ve just experienced! I am so glad that I had this opportunity! The Siskel Film Center hosted the Art of Benshi world tour; there were only two performances in Chicago (and the program was different on both days). Somehow, I managed not to miss an email when they announced these performances and got tickets for Igor and myself (and both shows were sold out!).
I never knew about benshi! You know how, at the dawn of cinematography, there was a pianist (or even a small orchestra) playing during silent movies? Well, in Japan, they not only had an orchestra but also a narrator, who gave a whole dramatic performance following the actions on the screen. That is the art of benshi, and that’s what we have experienced today!
I suspect even my Japanese friend will be jealous when she sees today’s program! And since I am afraid it will be removed from the Siskel Center website very soon, I am copy-pasting the program description here.

SANJI GOTO—THE JAPANESE ENOCH ARDEN (NARIKIN)
1918, dirs. Harry Williams, Kisaburo Kurihara
Japan, 35 min. 
Silent / Format: Digital 
Billed as the “the first ever Japanese production of its kind,” SANJI GOTO holds a fascinating place in international film history. After training as an actor with Thomas Ince, director Kisaburo “Thomas” Kurihara returned to Japan to make films to export to the US beginning with this slapstick comedy. Iwajiro Nakajima, “the Japanese Charlie Chaplin,” stars as a guileless janitor who journeys to the States on the chance of inheriting a fortune. Sadly, the film survives only as a fragment. Exhibition materials courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan. Performed by Hideyuki Yamashiro. 

JIRAIYA THE HERO (GÔKETSU JIRAIYA)
1921, dir. Shozo Makino
Japan, 21 min. 
Silent, intertitles in Japanese with English subtitles / Format: Digital
The first star of the Japanese screen, Matsunosuke Onoe plays the title character, a shape-shifting ninja who battles his enemies with an arsenal of magic, which includes transforming himself into a giant toad. Based on a famous folktale, JIRAIYA THE HERO was one of Japan’s earliest “trick films” and survives today as a fragment featuring a series of loosely connected fight scenes. Exhibition materials courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan. Performed by Ichiro Kataoka, Kumiko Omori, and Hideyuki Yamashiro. 

OUR PET
1924, dir. Herman C. Raymaker
USA, 11 min. 
Silent, intertitles in Japanese with English subtitles / Format: Digital 
Diana Serra Cary, better known by her screen name Baby Peggy, was only 19 months old when director Fred Fishback cast her in a series of comedy shorts in 1921 alongside Brownie the Wonder Dog. By the following year, she was one of the biggest child stars in the world. In OUR PET, discovered at auction in 2016 by master benshi Ichiro Kataoka, Peggy is awakened from sleep by a series of burglars who quickly find themselves in over their heads, Home Alone–style. Performed by Kumiko Omori. 

A PAGE OF MADNESS (KURUTTA IPPEIJI)
1926, dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa
Japan, 70 min. 
Silent, intertitles in Japanese with English subtitles / Format: Digital 
With a scenario devised by Japanese novelist (and later Nobel Prize winner) Yasunari Kawabata with contributions from other members of the radical literary movement known as Shinkankakuha, director Teinosuke Kinugasa crafted this visionary masterpiece that was thought lost for almost 50 years. Wracked with guilt, believing his wanton cruelty drove his wife insane, a husband becomes a janitor at the asylum where she’s incarcerated so he can care for her. When he comes to fear her illness may prevent their daughter from getting married, he gradually loses his own grip on reality. Replete with fantastical images, super impositions, and rapid montage, the film subverts any sense of narrative coherence even as Kinugasa builds, according to critic Chris Fujiwara, “an atmosphere of astonishing intensity.” Performed by Ichiro Kataoka. 

The first free films are amazing, but the last one, “A Page of Madness,” was beyond amazing! I still can’t believe that it was filmed a hundred years ago! It’s of a Tarkovsky level, if not above! I am speechless! And very thankful 🙂

ODS

A brief summary of my most recent ODS activity.

  • First time after a long period of absence, everything went great; everybody participated in making pizza, I had great conversations, I clicked with several young people in the shelter, and everything was great.
  • The second time, two weeks later: way less engagement; only two girls came to help me cook. The girl who was the most enthusiastic about my presence and promised to connect to me on LinkedIn and tell me everything about her progress sat in the corner with her back facing me, and when I approached her, she replied: yes, I am coming in a minute, but she kept staring at her phone screen.
  • Third time: we tried to go to the Art Institute. We talked about it when I cooked dinner, and there was a lot of interest. However, on “day X” nobody wanted to come
  • Forth time, today: almost no participation. The staff came to help me cook. One girl reluctantly approached but then walked away. I asked her later whether she liked the food -she did and she thanked me.

I talked to the staff. They agreed with my assessment that it’s hard to predict, and only the time can tell and only the time can improve. I will keep coming, and I need to find a way to do it ore frequently.

TIME Magazin: How To Stop Procrastinating…

I am copying this article and thinking that none of my friends will believe that the problem described in it has anything to do with me, but it does!!!

While many things are not related to me at all, almost half of the “symptoms” are mine! I do not sleep in on weekends, and I do not “dread the next day,” but I am definitely trying to catch up with what I missed during the day and regain some control, especially when, like now, I objectively have to do more things than a day can handle. And I do shop on Amazon at very late hours.

Continue reading “TIME Magazin: How To Stop Procrastinating…” →

Theo: A Tribute To Sondheim

I finally found clips from yesterday’s performance!

Weekend

I got on my other bike, and went for not a really long one, but for a reasonably long ride. And then, I met with my friend MaryAnn at Theo Ubique Cabaret for dinner and the show. Everything was amazing as always, and we had a great time. I actually didn’t worry about “what awaits me” and felt rested and prepared for all of the challenges of the upcoming week.

At least, I hope so!

Fort Sheridan: Early Spring

I am so glad that I planned a trip to Fort Sheridan for this Saturday! I put it on my calendar several weeks ago, thinking that I needed to have it on my calendar; otherwise, I won’t go at all because there will always be something more important. I was thinking for a while that I needed to take my mom there because I knew she would love it, and that although she can’t tell it, she misses nature outings. It turned out that she almost forgot our Deer Grove Forest Preserve frequent walks, but she enjoyed that one just the way I hoped for – she said that it can’t be captured on camera and can’t be described – you need to experience it.

I will take a picture of this tree each season!

The Series Of Unfortunate Events

It was an ideal morning for a long bike ride. I left the house before dawn with all intentions of having the first long bike ride of the season. I had gloves on and a bag with wipes so that I could fix the chain if it fell off. I was biking and thinking about how well I was prepared, how I had an injury last May that ruined a big chunk of my summer, and how it would not happen again.

And then…. I ran over a small branch on the bike path and got a flat tire! It was so dumb that I could easily avoid it! It was 28 minutes into my ride, which means I was pretty far into it! The closest CTA stop was Thorndale, and I started my walk there. It was not much fun when I needed to walk the bike, and it took me pretty much the same time to reach the station. When I climbed up holding my bike (no elevator), I looked at the train tracker and saw that the next train was in 27 minutes!!! I cursed – but what could I do?! I stood at the platform for the train in my direction and suddenly saw a train approaching from the opposite direction! I thought – well, that looks like there is a problem somewhere on the tracks, I guess I need to wait. Five minutes later, I saw a train in my direction, going on the far track without stopping! I was: what’s going on?! I still waited, the tracker showed 23 min, then, one more train in the wrong direction stopped, and one of the passengers told me: you need to go in that direction and then go back!

It was only then that I opened the CTA web page and read the Red Line alerts: they were doing track repair, and the trains in the North direction didn’t stop “from Thorndale through Jarvis.” I cursed again but now had to wait for the next train South. (And Sunday trains are, to put it mildly, not so frequent). Finally, the train arrived, and having checked the CTA website (Thorndale through Jarvis), I stepped out on the platform and brought my bike down again to switch to the opposite direction, and only when I was down, and I didn’t see others stairs up, I remembered, that Bryn Marw works only in one direction until the new station will be built. So, I had to bring my bike up again and wait for yet another train South. The next stop, Berwyn, is closed until God knows what time for renovation, so I could only exit on Argyle. Then there was one piece of good luck because the train North was standing on the other side, and at least I didn’t have to go down and up again. Only when I was on board and heard the announcement did I realize that “thorough Jarvis” meant that it would not stop at Jarvis! So… I had to go to Howard, and escalator up and stairs down, and wait again, and finally got home, plus one more stairs down.

I returned home two and a half hours after I left in the morning, having biked for less than half an hour!

This post attempts to make lemonade from lemons, so please, no condolences!

Before Mensplain

I had this article: Why Men Can’t Admit They Don’t Know Something by Brendan Leonard, in my bookmarks forever and never shared it; and isn’t it brilliant?! I tried it on Boris, and he had to admit his defeat (actually, I asked him whether he ever said explicitly that he was wrong – to anybody?)

Here it is – enjoy!

Continue reading “Before Mensplain” →

Elijah At CSO

On Thursday, I went to listen to Mendelssohn’s Elijah in the CSO: I needed to replace two matinee concerts for which I was going to take my mom and which I couldn’t make because of my schedule changes. I hadn’t heard Elijah before and was slightly unsure how the two-and-a-half hours of oratorio would go with my mom (and with me, for that matter).

And it turned out to be two-and-a-half hours of such joy that it was almost difficult to keep being joyful 🙂

Mom loved it and said that she never thought Mendelssohn would write something like that :). As usual, she did find things to complain about, but that was minor.

The CSO has an Instagram post about this concert; you can scroll to see the pictures of the singers, but unfortunately, you can’t hear them. I didn’t find any recordings with this particular cast; if I will find it, I will add a link here.

I wondered why it was performed in English, and then I learned that its premier was in English and that there were both English and German versions from the start.

After a questionable Aida last week, it was such a delight! The impeccable voices, the moving music, and all the performers united by the great masterpiece – it couldn’t be better!

How My Days Look Like

The things that I need to decide/figure out with the conference keep piling up on top of the work things, which are piling up on their own.

For the past two weeks, I get up at 4-30 and go to bed at 11-30 every day (plus/minus 15 minutes). I am genuinely happy that I am still able to produce something meaningful at work – I figured out a couple of non-trivial things in the course of the past two weeks, which makes me feel good in terms that I am not completely neglecting my work 🙂

I am going out way less than I usually do, but I still go out sometimes, and I am trying not to abandon my volunteering. Once again, it’s not easy, but I am doing my best.

One more time: meals at work are huge time savers. Since I also do not need to do dishes or brew my coffee, it’s at least 1.5 hours a day, and I know how to use them for more important things 🙂 I even stopped baking at home (the last time I baked something was for Easter), and I am planning to hold off baking until after the conference (help me God!)

No time to get into details, it’s just that life is very intense!