Category: events

A Visit To The Adler Planetarium

The Adler Planetarium is one of the two big museums in Chicago that I am not a member of (the other is the Museum of Science and Industry). Both museums are farther away, but that’s only part of the reason I am not a member. For the latter, the distance is a problem, although I really love it and am considering joining for the sake of my granddaughters. But for Planetarium, it’s not the distance; I am just not into it that much, so the distance wouldn’t be a problem.

Recently, I found out that the Planetarium has free public days (or rather, free nights), which they announce on their website, and any Chicago resident can get a ticket. It took me a while to find a free day to attend (these days are always Wednesdays), but I finally got a free ticket for May 6. In addition, you can buy tickets for different shows, and I bought a ticket for the Skywatch Live.

Below is a visual report of my visit.

The piece of the Moon
Gemini 12 – for real

One thing I really enjoyed, and there is no way to reproduce it here: the footage of the Control Center when the astronauts are landing on the surface of the Moon. This footage presents America at its greatness, the feeling we are now missing!

Continue reading “A Visit To The Adler Planetarium” →

American Dream Documentary, And A Surprising Discovery

Since neither Igor nor I had an opportunity to participate in any of the May Day events, and I couldn’t even get out of the office to watch a march, I suggested watching one of the Labor Movement documentaries screening at the Siskel Center during the first days of May. We went to see the American Dream documentary produced by Barbara Kopple in 1990. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I didn’t know about the labor strike against Hormel Foods of 1986. My complete cluelessness added suspense because throughout the whole documentary, I didn’t know how it would end! Sometimes (often?) it’s important to learn not only about impressive victories, but also about great failures.

There was something else, quite unexpected, that caught my attention while I was watching this documentary: the way everyone talked. A couple of weeks ago, I saw an article reporting a recent study finding that people now use fewer words than they did twenty years ago, and this documentary was striking proof of that! As a frequent participant in political rallies, I know very well how even the best speakers talk these days! In this movie, the union leaders, the members, and everyone talked intelligently, used a lot of words, and spoke complicated sentences. Nobody was shouting slogans; instead, people reasoned, considered different aspects of the matter at hand, listened to others’ arguments, and offered counterarguments. And trust me, none of this was rehearsed! There were heated debates, and at one point, a debate turned into a physical fight, but still!

I was shocked! Where did all of this go?! How did we get there? And how can we return to normality?!

Watch trailer on Vimeo

Mindfulness In Nature: Spring

On Saturday, I attended a meditation session organized by the Nature volunteers group. I attended a similar session last year, and I liked the experience and the instructor. As last time, we gathered by the Leone Beach clubhouse, observed the lake, and recalled our previous interactions with nature. We shared our stories, and then we walked in the Nature Area, paying attention to the signs of awakening nature, and then gathered together again to share our thoughts and observations.

With the weather being like it was for the previous month, I was surprised to see that many flowers were blooming! In early spring, I always notice new bright green coming out of the dry brown patches of the previous season grass. Life goes on :).

A Silent Movie At Guarneri Hall

On Wednesday, I went to a show at Guarneri Hall for the first time after a long break. The show was rather unusual – it was an accompaniment for a classic silent movie.

The program featured

Pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman returns to Guarneri Hall for the third time, amping up the fun for one of our most-anticipated events of the season. A Night at the Movies pairs a silent-era film comedy with a brilliant, original film score written and performed live by Prutsman and a small ensemble.

In Buster Keaton’s College, Ronald, a nerdy scholar, pans sports in favor of academics. This attitude wins him no points with his peers and especially coed Mary, who favors the athletic Jeff. Ronald’s effort to win back Mary through his failed attempts at various sports is the setup for Keaton’s unique physical comedy in this hilarious film from 1927.

Here is a more detailed description of this movie, and also the interview with the composer.

I think that most of the audience had more fun than I did; for me, it was more educational than funny, and I am unsure what cultural context I am missing. Still, I didn’t regret going, but I liked the other two concerts I attended there more.

Guarneri Hall always has small receptions following each concert, where you can grab a glass of wine and some bites. Since that’s too late for me, I would grab some fruit, cheese, and crackers and not stay for long. This time, an older gay couple asked me if they could join me at the table, and at first, we had a lively conversation about silent movies. They told me about their visit to the Lumiere Museum in Lyon a month earlier, and I shared how I watched Lumiere le Cinema at Siskel. Then we talked about other cultural venues and places to have a pre-concert dinner. And then they asked me where I lived before coming to the US. Since it was not the first question they asked, I felt it was appropriate, and told them that I am from Russia, and that I have lived here for thirty years. Then they asked me whether I ever go back, and I replied: not since the war started. They nodded, but then immediately started telling me how they had visited Russia, what Moscow and Saint Petersburg were like, and how they loved museums. Then, they started about Navalny, “who is the only person who is capable of changing the course” (they spoke in the present tense, so it looks like they completely missed the last several years of development). At this point, I stopped nodding politely and told them that although I condemn the killing of political opponents, Navalny wouldn’t be better for Russia. To which they said that “they stay away from politics” and “of course, we were true innocents abroad“, but then kept going on at length about the great culture.

… just saying that when people are “selectively innocent” about politics, that’s when bad things happen.

The Great Gatsby On Broadway

I love the book, love that period in history, and, I guess, that’s one of the reasons Chicago is my kind of town to the extent it is: the Roaring 20s was the most glorious period in its history. That show was just what I needed this week, when I needed to stop worrying about everything, and I left the theater in the most positive state of mind I had during the last month.

Lots of patrons were dressed in the Gilded Age style, including my neighbor, and I felt very inadequate, but still enjoying myself

Lyric Opera Season Preview

That was the event where I lost my phone for 20 minutes! As a subscriber, I had an invitation to the Lyric season preview, to which I planned to go with one of my friends, who canceled at the last minute. I thought I would still go, although I already knew what would be performed during the season, and I had already renewed my subscription. Still, I thought it would not be bad to attend; after all, the Lyric Opera House is just two blocks away from my office.

Then I looked at the email with the event details and saw that they would have a reception from six to seven, and decided to come earlier to get some fine bites.

I was glad I went, because everything looked very festive, and the snacks and desserts were delicious, and then I found that there was not only complimentary wine, but complimentary tea and coffee as well. And five minutes later, I realized that I didn’t have my phone on me, which meant that I had nothing literally!

During the next twenty minutes, I deeply regretted going, and was trying to figure out how I could restore my life (I have my State ID and my physical card in the phone case, and I wouldn’t be even able to get home!

Fortunately, the phone was found and returned to me twenty minutes later, but those were very miserable and scary 20 minutes!

Another Concert With Mom

I think I will stop taking my mom to the concerts :). On Sunday, I took her for another one, this one was at the CheckOut, a new venue relatively close to where I live. I’ve been there several times, both on my own and with my mom. She is always complaining that the sound is not good enough, and the venue allows her to be super-close to the performer, and see and hear everything.

To be quite honest, this concert was a disappointment for me. To put it politely, it looked like the performer used to be an excellent piano player many years ago, and now is rapidly losing it.

I know that this can happen even with the most outsatnding musicians. I will never forget how I went to listen to Van Clyborn concert at Ravinia many years ago, and he was not even that old, but it was a micerable experience.

My mom didn’t get what was going on, but she was saying that “the movements of his hands were not in sync with the sound,” which was totally her imagination and that “it was bum-bum-all the same over and over,” which was also not exactly the case.

I have another pair of tickets for both of us for the concert on May 3, but I looked at the program and at the performers and realized that it wil be another “what is his national origin,” situation, so most likely I will return these tickets. Actually, than was a replacement for the concert which I could not attend because of my travels, and I knew it won’t be an adequate one, so I do not have big regrets!

And More CSO

That was the third CSO concert I attended within one week. This one was last Thursday, and I went with my neighbor, with whom I attend most of the events. The conductor was Andrey Boreyko, and the featured soloist was Evgeny Kissin. I told my neighbor that the first time I saw Kissin performing was when he was nine years old, and I still remember it, because he sounded extraordinary. Well, 40+ years later, he is definitely a great pianist, but I somehow felt like he lost his spark, or just was not at his best.

The technique is flawless as usual, but it didn’t touch me as much as I thought it would, and I attribute that to Kissin not putting his whole soul into this performance. I do not know how to better describe what I felt.

You won’t tell any of that, looking at the pictures below, so I am willing to accept it was just me.

One more note. One of the pieces performed was a Suite from the Tale of Tsar Saltan, and even the program notes stated that the Flight of the Bumblebee is the only music from Rimsky-Korsakov that the world knows. The audience became very enthusiastic with the first sounds of this part of the suite, and even my neighbor pushed my elbow 😂. Well…

Sunday

There was one more CSO concert on Sunday, the one where I took my mom. I used to purchase a separate matinee subscription for her, but I know that no matter what she says, it is becoming difficult for her to attend the events often. Besides, to be completely honest, going with her is not more entertainment for me, but a difficult job.

She used to enjoy the music, but now she always says that she was looking at the musician’s hands rather than listening, and I feel a little bit resentful spending money on the tickets when she is not really engaging in the show. That would be OK, as long as she’s saying she enjoys time with me, but also, she keeps saying unpleasant things about everyone: a conductor, musicians, patrons, and staff. She recognizes many musicians, and she has some opinions on their character, which I have no idea how she got. Most frequently it’s “he always thinks too high of himself, he likes to show off: look at me, I am so great!” I think that most likely it’s because when she sees people on the stage smiling, she does not understand why 🤷🏻‍♀️. She also comments on everyone clothing, body sizes, hairstyles, etc, and always asks “what is the nationality of this artist,” and get upset when I tell her I have no idea.

The concert was very good, and I hoped that the program which contained several smaller pieces will be better for her to stay focused. Unfortunatley, the seats I got where on the side, rather than in the center, so she had trouble capturing the sound, and also she could not see the musicians hands, so she didn’t like it that much. She could see the conductor, which partially compensated for the rest 🙂 .

LUMIÈRE, LE CINÉMA!

I am still unsure whether it was a good idea, but that was my typical full-blown FOMO: I read about this new film, which tells the story of the invention of cinema by the Lumière brothers, featuring over 100 original shorts, and I really-really-really wanted to see it! And there was not a single screening I could attend. Finally, I decided to do this silly thing: I got a ticket for 8:15 PM on Tuesday, hoping I’d be able to come to the Siskel Center after the egg coloring in the ODS. I decided that if the residents wanted me to stay longer, I would not go, but we were done coloring by 7:30, so I left around 7:45, and was at the Siskel Center on time.

The film was very long. The program said it was 106 minutes, but it was still not over at 10:10 PM, when I decided I needed to go, otherwise I won’t be able to get up the next day!

My other laments: in the clip, the comments are in English, but at the screening, the comments were in French, and the subtitles were white, which made it difficult to read over the black and white screen, so often, I would choose to pay attention to the screen rather than the story. I found the most interesting to see how they chose what exactly they were filming, and how exactly.

Here is the Siskel Center description of the film, and the trailer:

In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years. Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses LUMIÈRE, LE CINÉMA! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative instrument as they (and their operators) mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for quotidian and exotic microdocumentaries as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious re(telling) of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the mysterious world imagined—by the Lumières.

Even though I definitely did not get enough sleep on the third day after I came back from Finland, I think it was totally worth it!