Dropped from Heaven

So it's my b-day (give or take a day) and look what I find on the sidewalk in front of me ...

Email Crap I Wake Up To

I'm 'spose to take this seriously?:

House Outlook: Clean Your Kettle While You Sleep

ALA at 150

The American Librarian Association (ALA) is celebrating its 150th anniversary with some nice articles including a special website and blog (link) along with the section: 55 Moments That Redefined Librarianship.

Hats off ALA and Happy Birthday!

Things Here I'd Rather Avoid

I mean, I-No-Need, I-No-Need, I-No-Need :

"CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP"

Groovy Things to Read

Bunch of groovy things to read over the weekend:

Famous Last Words (Chap. 5k)

"Get the App"

Please, enough is enough is enough ... :-(

Shoes?

Anyone need a pair of shoes? There hanging from the street-sign for whoever wants ...

Cubs Game!

Cubs game! Kinda cool (weather) but hear that crowd inside !!!

Storm On the Way Home

Kinda rainy rainy on the way home (Broadway & Briar) ...

Most Important Article of the Year ... :-)

The Author of the New 'Burger Bible' Picks Her Top 5 Chicago Burgers [Chicago Suntimes]:

'Let the Debate Begin. Am I Biased? Wildly Subjective? Untrustworthy Even? Therein Lies the Joy of Our Collective Burger Obsession.'

By Maggie Hennessy | WBEZ Apr 1, 2026, 5:30am CDT

3 Years Since Library Bye-Bye

Oh, well ... [link]

Repeat After Me

So important:

• "Mustard, Relish, Grilled Onions & Pickle!"
• "Mustard, Relish, Grilled Onions & Pickle!"

I'll leave the rest to you ... :-)

Empty Bottle

I really really wish they'd leave me at least a little to drink ...

Yummy Yummy

Just finished off a couple of things that had been taking up space in yee-old-fridge -- two pieces of fried chicken and two ice-cream bars. Next week starts the annual diet :-) ...

Outside Beds

Nice they got these outside beds around here -- can take a snooze when I need or want to ...🙃

Tonight's Project

Um, think I'll be listening to all the tunes on my iTunes app (>1k) ... :-)

Tis The Season

Getting a lot of these at the moment: 'Can you pledge monthly just $1 before bed tonight...?' :-)

Jesse Jackson Event by Rainbow Push

Really, really nice event by Rainbow PUSH devoted to the recently passed away Jesse Jackson.

ALA 2026 (6/25-6/29)!

Looking forward to ALA 2026 (6/25-6/29)!   Just signed up!

Thank You Rev. Jackson!

Hats off Rev Jackson -- Thanks for helping me out in West Berlin! (background) ...

Chicago Reader Returned to Weekly (2014)

Interesting article from 2014 explaining why the Chicago Reader was returning from bi-weekly to a weekly publication:

Publisher's Note: Why the Reader Is Returning to Weekly Publishing
The Chicago Reader's print publication will return to weekly publishing in June 2024. The paper pivoted to a biweekly print schedule in June 2020. [link]

Note (2/6/26): They've recently switched back to monthly (link)...

Famous Last Words

"Download our app"

No Thanks ...

Credit to Chicago

Interesting list of contributions from Chicago during the Civil War:

• It should be remembered and made a matter of history that the first money raised in Illinois for the war was subscribed by citizens of Chicago.
• The first armed force sent out in the West was that sent to Cairo, and it was sent from Chicago.
• The first general in command in the State of Illinois was Richard Kellogg Swift, a citizen of Chicago.
• The first shot fired in the West for the Union was a Chicago shot, from a Chicago cannon, trained by a Chicago boy, of the Chicago Light Artillery.

Source: Cook, F.F. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Civil War (1914). [link]

Wow, IceCream Everywhere!

 Outside On My Daily Walk ...  🙂

Library Science 101

My Approach at the RefDesk when helping a student or member of the faculty (which occasionally would get me into trouble):

• "Let's Try Something Else" (i.e. different database or different search terms, etc.)

Snowy Street-Scene

 Um, waiting for a snowman to come knocking on my door  🙂

P.S. It's been a pretty chilly winter ...

CTA Bus Really Needs a Bath

On a bus (CTA #22) trying to look outside:  Wish they'd give these buses a good washing -- maybe once a year at least  :-)

Chilly! Chilly!

Went out for a short walk -- hoo, chilly! chilly! 

Spouse2Bee

 Ok, it's been decided! I'm gonna marry this rabbit! 'Bout time! 🙃

Where to Go to Potty -- in Roman Times

Important information on going to the potty in Roman Times: link...

CTA EL Station Rehab

Background info on EL Station rehab:
https://loopchicago.com/in-the-loop/new-state-and-lake-cta-l-station-designs-unveiled/

Wow '26!

Wow '26 -- who's going to remember that? :-)

Yuck, Glad I Left Early

Article in yesterday's Sun-times:

DePaul University Lays Off 114 Staff Members:
"The Lincoln Park-based school [i.e. Depaul] said it’s facing financial headwinds due to a significant drop in enrollment among international graduate students, an increased demand for financial aid and the rising costs of benefits."
Chicago Sun-times (12/15/2025)

Preparing for the #BigChilly

Getting ready for the #BigChilly -- bought a whole bunch of groceries! (Plus a case of beer, naturally!)

New Year's Resolution

Fried Chicken?   Buy a whole year's worth!   I need it!   We all need it!   #NewYrsResolution 🙂

Yowza, Snowy Corner

Yowza! Snowy corner at Clark and Wellington (looking north) ...

Name-Change to Street in Berlin

Interesting change of name for a street in Berlin. Just noticed! It's gone from Manteuffelstr. to Audre-Lorde-Straße -- at least the section which I used to live on. More info here:

Part of Manteuffelstraße to be renamed after American poet Audre Lorde ...

No Sandwich for Leo :-(

Birds wouldn't share their sandwich with me! Not one offer to join in and take a bite :-(

Tag der Mauerfall (Day the Wall Came Down)

Yup, I've written about this before (link). It's a day I'll never forget...

Today's Proceeds ...

Sick of finding all this money on the sidewalks :-) I mean, do I walk for a living???

Spare me the App!

'Get the App' -- um, not me, thank-you ...

Nice Rewards for Nice Flu Shots!

Got all these nice presents/rewards -- just for getting those Flu & Covid shots! It was a shoulder-to-shoulder affair -- one side (i.e. shoulder) got the covid shot and the other side got the flu thingee!

Weekend reads ...

Nice bunch ... :-)

Enjoying Lunch with Honest Abe

Enjoying lunch (italian beef sandwich) with Honest Abe ... It was a nice day with nice weather so I walked downtown and back.

1st Cool Evening

1st cool evening in Chi-town -- upper 40s. 1st day for the apartment heater -- I set it to 69.

Banned Books

Discussion of banned books over at Pen.org:

596 Books Banned by Department of Defense Schools Include Titles on Democracy, Feminism, Racism

Atlantic Magazine (11/2025)

Happy to say, I was able to track down next month's Atlantic Magazine a bit early. Loads of interesting articles! [link]

Purdie Poster!

Purdie poster! Got it at today's 'Rally & March'.

Another Fraud from PayPal

Wonderful -- another fraud from PayPal. This one says I'm being charged $449.88 for a 'Springfield Armory Gun', no less. :-(

Junk Email From Spokeo

Junk email from Spokeo:

"We may have found court records matching the name Leo Klein — Come see what we found!"

-- Really?

So Happy! Happy!

I wake up and remember there's still one more hamburger in the fridge to munch on! #reason4living 🙂

Today's Purdy Purdy

A bit south of Diversey -- known affectionately as 'South Lagoon'

Out in the Park

Yup, out in the park ...

Love the Shirts!

Love the shirts -- have to get one!

Now I Know ...

Now I know where zippers come from -- finally ... 🙂

How WWI Made the Zipper a Success
A money belt with a zipper became an instant success among WWI U.S. sailors, whose uniforms did not have pockets. Almost all initial zipper sales were for the money belts.

Hotdogs in the Park

So I was sitting in the park, chomping down on a polish sausage -- when this guy (see photo) comes over wanting a bite. I mean, can't they get their own??? 😀

Repeat What?

You ask me what I would like to repeat (if I had the choice)? Um, 1980s, please ...

Cooling Off Summer-style

It's been relatively mild this season. Normally I air out the place in the evening, leaving the windows open till early next morning -- at which point (early sunrise) I'd close everything. But this year? Only needed the AC two times this year. Not bad! :-)

Out On My Afternoon Walk

Passing by ye-olde-neighborhood ballpark, Wrigley Field. Game had just let up so there was quite a crowd outside ...

Walk-Marathon!

Walking all the way downtown is no big deal -- I do it all the time, taking the bus home. Today was different -- not only did I walk downtown but I walked all the way back home as well. Not bad!

WebApp? No Thank-You!

I've mentioned this before (link) but having to look for a separate program for each network (usually a webpage) that I'd like to access -- that makes about as much sense as requiring a separate telephone for each and every phone number. No thank-you!

Labor Day Parade

Nice walk down the street — feeling happy.

Fire on B-way

Fire on B-way just south of Devon -- the yellow/orange brick building on the left (eg north). CBS-TV reports address as '6341 N. Broadway' [link]

Today's #FoundOnStreet Award

Actually it wasn't on the street but the sidewalk where I found this -- a Garfield Dollar coin. Always nice to find cash this way!

Cool August in Chi-town

It's upper 70's today, lower 60s this evening. That's what we're getting for August? What are we going to call this? Global Cooling?

Tribune TV Guide

As kids, this was the first thing we’d look for as soon as the Sunday newspaper arrived (that and the funnies of course):

Kinda Sad I Missed Bernie

Not sure how I missed it but this looks kind of interesting [link] ...

Sensible Development ...

Someday, I'll be out on a walk and all of a sudden, hamburgers will start to rain down from heaven :-) :-) :-) ...

Relatively Cool Summer

So I gotta admit: this Summer ain't too bad -- really!

Routine normally is: leave the windows open overnight when it's relatively cool, close everything before sunrise thus holding inside the cool temp. This would work pretty much the whole day -- until evening when I'd repeat the process. Nice!

Note, I live relatively close to the lake -- that large body of water which has an effect on local weather.

Watched While Walking

Walking down the street, I noticed I was being watched by one of those feathered creatures up there !!! :-) :-) :-)

Ever Heard of 'Public Transportation'?

Oy, on the NPR program 'Here And Now', they were baffled by the question: 'Why teens aren't driving as much as they used to?' [link]

Um, maybe because they've got this alternative -- you know, something called 'public transportation' 🙂🙂🙂 -- LeofromLakeview

Surfside?

Surfside? Shouldn't that be something I'd be carrying? 🙃🙃🙃

Yippy, New Backpack! Finally :-)

Almost 2 years after original purchase (link): And of course it wasn't till this week that the 'older baby' finally fell apart (zipper -- totally busted). Happy to move everything over to the new baby!

DQTD (dumbest question of the day)

DQTD (dumbest question of the day): guy comes up to me on the street, shows me a ring (supposedly gold) and asks me where he can go to sell it. Um, right...

At Home with Friends

Grant Park Music Festival

Out at the Grant Park Music Festival Independence Day Salute -- walked all the way there {and walked all the way back).

Chi-town Summer Day

Yup, definitely a tee-shirt and shorts occasion. (At home, I got 'AC'). Can't wait till we hit August ... Update: Good news - looks like the home AC is working ...

Later in the day I checked out the concert at the Chicago Pride Fest:

Today's March Downtown

Heading down the street on our way downtown -- feeling happy.
[Location: Washington St. heading south to Daley Plaza]

'Get the App' (#FamousLastWords)

'Get the App' (#FamousLastWords)

-- From the same crowd that would've told you to get a new record player for each new record ...

Incredible Weekend

Amazing events happening in Chicago over the weekend:

• Ribfest Chicago (Fri., Sat. Sun)
• Chicago Blues Fest (Thurs., Fri., Sat. Sun)
• Old Town Art Fair (Sat., Sun.)
• House Music is Home at Navy Pier (Sun.)

Wow! (I'll be going to the Blues Fest on Sunday!)

Big Crowd Outside of Music Box Theatre

People waiting in line down the whole block at Music Box Theatre. Most of them had come from Wrigley Field after the Cubs game.

Gallery Bookstore Closing

Anyone walking down Belmont Ave will have seen the Gallery Bookstore (website). They're now closing unfortunately and apparently have reached the stage where they're giving away a portion of their inventory. Oh well. I picked up the following volumes (mostly U.S. history):

The books lay in shelves outside their store and there was quite a crowd going through the titles (see 2nd photo).

The Problem With #UICDental 🙁 ???

• The problem with #UICDental: They only do what interests them 🙁 ...
• All they want to do is remove your teeth and replace them with implants 🙁
• Wrong place if you need your teeth cleaned (for me 1st time in 5 years) fuhgeddaboudit 🙁

Update: I was told when I went over there this afternoon, that I could not enter the building. Um, this is what I'm paying for with my 'health insurance'?

Rent My Apartment at a Pretty High Rate

Wow, Redfin says I could rent out my place (2 bd) for up to $3k per month -- who knew!

Redfin: "[Your Apt Address] could be making you $2,916-$3,203/mo in rental income. List your home today"

Friend of Mine Likes Apples

Friend of mine chewing on an apple which I tossed to him ...