Category: events

Two CSO Concerts

Just to note that I had some life during the past two weeks, not just conferences, papers, submissions, and millions of other things.

The first one was on April 13, a joint CSO/Joffrey performance. The first part was just CSO, but both pieces were extra special. The first was Chevalier de Saint-George’s First Symphony (and I am all into him since I learned about his existence, which, I hate to admit, happened fairly recently). The second one was Hayden’s Farewell Symphony, which, again, I knew nothing about, and I just thought that all Haydn’s symphonies are the same. The musicians didn’t have the candles on their music stands as they technically should for this piece, but they were still walking away until the last two violins were left. Below is not the CSO performance, but just to show what it looks like:

Then, after the intermission, we had the Joffrey on stage! In fact, they were warming up during the intermission, and everyone in the audience started taking photos 🙂

I especially loved the last piece, Le Bouef sur le Toit, by Darius Milhaud. Of course, below is just the music, without the ballet, and trust me, that was something worth seeing!

The second concert was Mahler’s Seventh on April 17. My neighbor, with whom we usually go, didn’t know what it was going to be, and it was a surprise for her that we would be sitting for an hour and a half with no intermission. But then she was absolutely taken away by the music :). Some works sound especially good when you listen from up close, because you feel like you are surrounded by music, and Mahler’s Seventh is one of them.

We Will Always Be Knox!

Learning that Governor Pritzker was chosen as a Knox Commencement Speaker was terrific! In general, news from Knox these days sounds very encouraging. With so many colleges bending to Trump’s ultimatums, it’s great to see those that stand their ground.

Also, the header of the Knox website page is more meaningful than ever: When history calls, be prepared to answer.

I really want to make a day trip to Galesburg on June 8 and listen to the Governor’s speech!

Copying the announcement from the Knox website here.

Continue reading “We Will Always Be Knox!” →

“It’s Basic” Documentary

I am on my way home from this event. I was half an hour late, but it was just the right time, as it turned out. The programming started approximately ten minutes after I arrived, and the panel after the screening was only 30 minutes long. After the “official part” was over, half of the audience rushed to the podium to talk with panelists, and I decided I did not want to stand in their way.

I loved the documentary; I cried several times. I am a firm believer in basic income, and I do not need any convincing, but it was great to hear about true stories, scientific analysis of the results, and about what’s next.

One thing that concerns me about this initiative and others like it is the randomness and small size of the groups of people who can benefit. It feels like one extra piece in the boundless mosaic of human services, and when I think about how I would like it to evolve, I would say this program should be as universal as possible.

On another topic: the Green Line was delayed several times both inbound and outbound, but I was able to ignore the surroundings and do something productive on the train.

I am super tired of everything which is happening in my life (including work), but there are things I can’t drop, no matter what.

My main reason to attend was the panelists:

  • Toni Preckwinkle, President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
  • Mayor Michael Tubbs, Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility; “It’s Basic” Film Executive Producer
  • Margaret M.C. Thomas, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

Igor’s Photos From The April 5 Protest

And More From the Hands Off Rally

I don’t know what it tells about Annd and me, but we thought going to the protest after the Children’s concert in the CSO was a great idea, and so we did. And there were a lot of other parents who brought their children of all ages to the rally, so at least in this part of our plan, we were not an exception.

While we were at the rally, Igor mentioned that the number of participants was estimated to be about 30 K. This is not as massive as the anti-Trump rallies eight years ago, but it is still a good step in the right direction.

On the way to Daley Plaza
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Today’s Rally

I will post my pics shortly – most of mine are different!

What I Saw of Chicago’s “Hands Off” Rally

Two Operas

This week, I attended two operas in Lyric, and that’s it for this season. The first one was La Boheme. It was the first time that I listened to it live, and I loved every moment of it! Everything was perfect, the acting, the set and the costumes, and all the voices were out of this world! I am reposting the photos from the Lyric Opera website, because I know they will be gone soon!

Two days later, I went to the Listeners. My neighbor read the reviews and said she did not want to go, but I was intrigued and went alone. I have nothing against modern operas, and was open to hearing something new. When I read that this opera is about “a cult,” I became unsure but decided to give it a try.

In the end, it was not my thing. Or rather, I do not think that the story was opera material. The promotional video looks tons better than the opera itself. But maybe it’s just me!

Continue reading “Two Operas” →

Member’s Night at Aquarium

On Friday, I left work earlier and took a train to Milwaukee to pick up Nadia and Kira for the Shedd Aquarium Member’s Night. We already did it multiple times: Anna brings the girls to the train station, I get out, pick up the girls, and hop on the same train. That works great because the wait is minimal, and there is no risk of missing the train: it’s actually the same train going back!

I have many reasons to be proud of my granddaughters, one of which is that they can walk a long distance without complaints and understand what it means to wait for a bus or for the museum doors to open. We ended up walking most of the way from the Union Station to the Aquarium, with only a short Red Line ride in between two strides, and they did great 🙂

The Shedd is undergoing a major renovation, but some parts are already open, including the former Rotunda reimaged as two exhibits:

These are two live ecosystems: one with fresh water and one with salt water, and some parts of the glass are magnifying. The best part is that the systems live and evolve, so the promise is that each time you come, you see a slightly different

Nadia’s personal achievement was that she finally touched a sea star 🙂 (not pictured). and a couple of creepy creatures we spotted – there were more, but we were very busy watching!

Friends! In case you are wondering – life is getting on my way again 🙂 But I am alive and well! Probably too much alive!!!

A Turnaway Play

Tuesday was the day of the DevOps conference, and after it was over, I went to one more event: a staged reading of the excerpts from the Turnaway Play, a play by Lesley Lisa Greene that looks at what really happens when a woman is denied access to abortion. The play was inspired by the Turnaway study, which offered the first scientific examination of the consequences of abortion bans. The reading was followed by a discussion with Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

Several things were interesting about this event. The venue was Theo Ubique Cabaret, which I patronize several times a year, and it was a political fundraiser I hadn’t attended for a while. Adding to that, the topic is really close to my heart, and I felt the unity and readiness to fight, which I didn’t feel for a while.

The best moment from the play reading was when the lecturer posed a question to the class. She described a young woman getting into exciting educational program, being able to participate in a research of her dream. However, she does any rainy day fund, and she is not in a stable relationships, and she finds out that she is pregnant. What should she do? – asked the lecturer. Should she get abortion or should she keep the baby? And the answer is: it’s not your business! Only she can decide what’s the best for her! And that’s the statement I agree with 1000%!

The political speeches were very empowering. Sarah Resnick and Daniel Biss talked about the importance of the local elections and our commitment to defend the humanitarian values locally when the federal governments doesn’t. So were the talks with the guest – I didn’t feel so good for a very long time!

Overall, this day, which ran from 7 AM to 9 PM, was prefect: revitalizing and inspiring.

Constructing Hope: Ukraine

Saturday was the day of St. Patrick’s celebration, but I did anything but that. In the morning, I was in the clinic escort, and then I walked to the CAC because I wanted to see two new exhibits and buy Chicago River Cruise tickets for people coming in April.

Unfortunately, the shortest way from the clinic to the CAC building is along the Chicago River, and unfortunately, that was precisely when they started to dye the river green!

A side note: two years ago, when I was in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, I was shocked to see how calmer and more civilized the celebration was there!

The last two shots were taken from the windows of the Chicago Architectural Center, and my goal was to see the Constructing Hope: Ukraine exhibit.

This exhibit showcases the work of grassroots initiatives to support short- and long-term Ukrainian reconstruction efforts. While the exhibit space is filled with first-aid sheltering kits, Co-Haty project works, and design ideas, the video monitors screen the footage of the crews asserting the damage to the buildings, women crying over the ruins of their homes, cursing the invaders. To be honest, that left me with hopelessness rather than hope, but that was how that day went.

By the end of the day on Saturday, having clinic escort in the morning, then seeing this exhibit, and then watching Under the Grey Sky, I felt like there were so many real threads in the world that all my troubles and fights were absolutely not important and I have no right to be upset about them.

I still do, though 🙂