Oy, here we go again (link)...
Deepdish pizza (popular in Chicago & around the world) originally comes from the tradition of thick-crust pizza in Rome and elsewhere in Southern Italy. There they call it 'pizza rustica'.
The crust is so thick that they take a plain version (i.e. just the crust with no topping), they slice it in the middle and stick in things like eggs and bacon -- for breakfast!
Hai capito? :-)
All right! Finally! Free pair of pants! #all-I-need !!!
Disturbing discussion of what looks like the current administration's intention to "cut federal funding for libraries and museums":
"Libraries are strong, trusted institutions, and it’s really unfortunate to hear that the federal government would think otherwise," said Cindy Hohl, the [library] association's president. "We have 125,000 libraries in this country, and that's more libraries than McDonald's restaurants. That's how prevalent and important they are. And so when we see that attacks on libraries are happening, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Americans love their libraries." [link]
Interesting look at predictions and the eventual realities of future libraries by PressReader: The Library of 2025: How Does It Compare to Past Predictions? (link)
Some predictions were good -- some were a bit inaccurate. As we all know (hopefully), information is an extremely valuable product. Shape may change over the years but access remains something we simply cannot do without.
Heading home after the parade -- great time!
Got so many presents -- hats, necklaces, bags ...
The #1 Exercise for Balance (link)Okay, okay, I'll follow the instructions -- now, where's my drink? 😉
This simple exercise can help prevent falls, improve how well you age
Gen Z Is Drinking Less — And It's Changing Chicago's Social Scene Chicago was once dubbed the “Greatest Drinking City in America” by GQ magazine. But Gen Zers are putting down the booze and seeking out nonalcoholic options instead. (Link)Psss, don't tell anyone but as teens, the only way we could acquire alcohol was to hang out in front of the liquor store and ask people going inside if they could buy us a bottle. Eventually someone would say 'yes'.
"Hönkel jedenfalls hat Spuren hinterlassen, sogar in Chicago: Dort erinnert der Publizist Leo Klein aktuell an den „Summer of Hönkel“ in Berlin 1987". (link)
[Translation: 'Honkel in any case left traces, even in Chicago: there publicist Leo Klein remembered the period in the blog entry: "Summer of Hönkel in Berlin 1987.']
Lot's of talk about the Social Security increase for government workers (NPR article). Love how it focuses on pension recipients -- and completely ignores those of us who got tricked into signing up for the State's 401k option. I mean, once they got you to sign up for that, there was no possibility to ever go back to the state pension plan. I know -- I asked!
Even worse, not only would you be cut off from the state pension plan but there was no possibility to sign up for Social Security. I know because I asked if I could make voluntary payments to Social Security. They laughed.
What a double whammy :-(
Important to remember: the student is there to learn something. You don't look up the article -- the student does! You're there to make looking up anything a 'teachable moment'. That's your job, that's your responsibility. We all come out better for it!
If you're helping a student search for something and nothing turns up: Encourage the student to try another search term or database. Things can be hard to track down but there are a variety of sources to look up -- and a variety of search terms one can use to find them.
Found this hefty tome ('American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide') out on the street in one of those book boxes. It's from 1999 but in almost new condition -- so I just couldn't resist ... 🙂
Here's something we learned from the Europeans: You don't go to a ‘Dot-Com’ for Healthcare!!!
P.S. Just call me, Carl Marks ... 😉
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1) I mean I gotta download a separate 'WebApp' for every website I go to? No thankyou! So user-unfriendly! So unnecessary!
Polish sausage with mustard, relish, grilled onions & pickle ... 2 please :-)2nd Thought of the Year (this one was obvious):
From now on only eat fried-chicken ... :-)
What timing! Thank you CTA ! 😉
This is nice. The introduction and tour of the Newman Library (Baruch College CUNY) which we did way-back when (2000) using Flash, etc. The project was featured at the time in College & Research Libraries News (link). Who knew?
The Chicago Suntimes ran a rather disturbing article on the decline of newspapers, 'As Newspapers Close Across The U.S., Study Finds Illinois Is Hard Hit' (link).
Some of the disturbing information:
Since 2005, more than one-third of U.S. newspapers — 3,300 outlets — have closed. In that time, Illinois has lost 36% of its newspapers, or 232 outlets, and Cook County has lost 40% of its newspapers.
Illinois has also lost 54% of its newspaper workers, or about 4,600 positions, in the decade ending in 2023.
There are a few positive developments including a "net increase of 81 stand-alone digital news sites" -- still it's clear: one of our most valuable resources is running into serious difficulties.
Please, please -- will somebody buy me some long-underwear!
[Posted while on my afternoon walk -- temp. in the low/mid 20's]
Not sure how to feel about this ...
Ashley Belanger: 'Welcome to Google’s Nightmare: US Reveals Plan to Destroy Search Monopoly'; DOJ goes for Google's throat with 'staggering' remedies to end search monopoly', Ars Technica, (11/21/2024)
So nice! Someplace where I can do my business! Wish they had these on every block :-)
35th Anniversary Berlin Wall Comes Down (11/9/1989) -- Actually the Wall didn't come down but rather (and just as well) it opened up. East Germans, formerly prevented from going over (or going pretty much anywhere) were finally allowed to go. We on the free side (i.e. West Berlin) cheered their crossing.
A Few More Details:
I was there, had been there since '84 and knew what it was like to have a police state just a block or two away. I was working construction in those days. I had finished up and had taken a nap. When I woke up one of the people living in the house told me the extraordinary news that while I was asleep, the Wall had come down.
Of course, the person exaggerated. The Wall which surrounded the entire western half of the city (where we lived) hadn't come down. Rather an opening had been made at Checkpoint Charlie and also at the Brandenburg Gate where people from East Berlin -- the 'Ossies' -- could cross over. What followed were three days of absolute euphoria as tens of thousands of East Germans came over, swamping the local public transportation, waiting in long lines in front of banks to pick up their "Begrüßungsgeld" (i.e. welcome money) of 100 DM with which they bought items absolutely unavailable in their part of the city such as cassette radios and bags of oranges.
The downfall of that Wall and the regime it represented was the most positive experience of my young adult life.
Wow, today's found item : street vehicle! It was just lying on the sidewalk -- couldn't pass it up. I've got everything!
Surprising and not-to-mention disturbing article about the lack of librarians in the Chicago Public School system: 'CTU Pushes for Libraries, Librarians in Every CPS School'. We get the count in the subtitle: '... just 107 librarians for more than 500 schools'.
Lemme do some math: So we're talking about almost four fifths of Chicago's public schools without access to research help? Disturbing!
Looking over this week's literary purchases (from Salvation Army) while chomping down on lunch at Taco Bell. Life is beautiful -- at least on Friday afternoons ...😀 !!!
The papers were lists of endorsements, etc. from various sources which I was able to find online.
Passed by while walking home from downtown. Thank you, thank you to the cleaners! Abe is a friend of our's!
P.S. Of course we all know it's called 'UIC' (for the past 30 yrs or more)...
P.P.S. It was during classes when I was there today so not too many people out in the Quad...
Happy #EuropeanDayofLanguages! I think I'll do French, German & Italian -- and oh yeah, English too :-) ...
Oh wow! Can do my 'business' out in the alley!
Couple days later: Bedroom in the alley -- places-to-sleep ??? :-)
Most happy moment this week: when I found a quarter on the sidewalk! Happy Days are here again 🙃🙃🙃
Also found this new friend (again just lying on the sidewalk) ...
Berlin Wall -- I knew it well! I lived in West Berlin for over five years -- back when West-Berlin was an island of freedom surrounded by the awful police-state of East Berlin and East Germany. Life in our part was totally wild and free -- full of things to do all night especially for boys and girls in their twenties.
One thing I enjoy doing nowadays is going through pictures of the Wall itself. You see, one evening after a few drinks back then, we went over and I painted my name ('Leo') in large letters on our side of the Wall. I haven't found it in any of the pictures online -- but I'll keep looking!
Two Days Later
So after all that talk, I think I may have come upon a photo of the Berlin Wall showing where I painted my name ('LEO'). It's on the round top part of the Wall:
Darn, the fridge konked out. It was my storage point for all those tasty things I acquired (often on sale). What I could save, I moved to the small ice-chest. Yup, living off that till I figure out how to bring the old baby back to life :-( ...
Job Board forwarded me a position for 'High School Math Teachers'. Me? Math Teacher? Are they nuts?
Life's so difficult -- can't decide whether to go for the fried-chicken on the left or the hamburger (from FiveGuys) on the right ...
Wow, I was going through some old blog entries (switching everything over to my new website) when I was reminded of the really nice award I got a couple years ago from library admin at Depaul. It was an acknowledgement of how I handled a rather urgent research question by faculty -- basically tracking down all relevant information during my weekend shift at the library's research desk. Here's the whole entry.
Concert going on at Wrigley Field -- heard the music and the crowd inside while walking by 🙂...
So because someone on the blog The Scholarly Kitchen writes a post or two criticizing publisher Edwin Mellen Press (EMP), EMP sends their lawyer after the blog with the equivalent of a 'cease-and-desist' letter -- not just to the blog but to a person who left a comment on one of the offending posts. Huh?
I know diddly-squat about Edwin Mellen Press and even less about the quality of their work but this way of reacting to criticism does nothing but lend credibility to the arguments of their detractors.
The two offending posts have since been removed but both are still available thanks to online archival services (h/t Gary Price):
