HOW MANY SHOOTINGS HAVE TO OCCUR BEFORE WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT REGULATING GUNS?
Another question
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Author Archives: ruthek
Pictures from Chicago
This is part of my cell room at International House. 
The laptop is sitting on a shelf that pulled out from the dresser and I sat on the edge of the bed to use it. On the left is the open door of the armoire. That was about the width of the room. The rest of it was a queen-size bed.
This is a view out my window, looking east, not far from Jackson Park, on the day it snowed. 
Somewhere out there is the Museum of Science and Industry and Lake Michigan. On Friday the sun came out. Here you can see the dome of the museum and the lake. The small apartment buildings are fairly typical of Chicago, usually two or three floors. Unlike New York, Chicago never had four or five story walk-ups. More recently, tall apartment buildings are going up all over the city.
The University is located in an older part of the city. There are some new buildings and lots of beautiful, old greystones and brick bungalows.
This one is looking down at the apartment buildings next to iHouse. 
Train tracks just beyond the apartment buildings carry both freight and commuter trains. On Thursday, Eli, Romy and I took the train downtown to the Cultural Center and the Art Institute.
Here is Romy eating ice cream in the cold. 
There was a time I would eat ice cream regardless of the weather. Those days are gone forever.
After lunch, we went to Millennium Park. Following are pictures from the park: the Frank Geary Bandshell in the dark and snow, which I like better this way than in sunshine; the Kapoor sculpture with snow forming amazing patterns on the polished silvery surface. You can just barely see the usual reflections. For summer pictures of the sculpture look at the Chicago 2007 album on the left.
This is the Museum of Modern Ice, Chicago’s February tourist attraction. The frozen slabs of color will melt somewhat in the sun, if it ever comes out, and should subtly change from day to day. The whole thing is backed with freezing coils; it should easily last all of February.
Here are the Art Institute lions clothed in snow. 
Finally, Romy and Eli trying to sell hats, handmade in Chile by Romy’s friend. This is part of a school project for her business course.
Folk Festival
Spent the weekend at the Folk Festival. I went to two of the three evening concerts and visited the workshops on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. My nephew, Jerry, came to the Saturday workshops, so we had a chance to visit while we listened to the music. On Sunday, I went to an interactive Klezmer workshop where I learned to sing a Klezmer melody. I really loved it. Sometimes I think I’d like to take singing lessons.
Workshops were held at Ida Noyes Hall on the UC campus. I spent a lot of time there when I was in school; it was the women’s physical education building. There was a swimming pool and a bowling alley in the basement, now long gone, and the dean of women held a tea for entering women in the library. The building was very elegant with dark wood paneling, overstuffed sofas and chairs with carved wood decoration. Tea was elegant, also. We wore dresses and white gloves, very ladylike, as ladies were defined in 1950. Did I ever write about how much I hated white gloves? I could never keep them white; I was certain this was an indication of some deficiency on my part, until I found out that Queen Elizabeth had a lady in waiting who carried many pairs of white gloves so she could have a new clean one whenever necessary.
Several of the workshops were held in that library, and I sat there thinking about the tea, the white gloves, the swimming pool and Dean McCarn. Only the Klezmer workshop, where I was singing, kept me in the here and now.
Here is Charna playing her fiddle at one of the workshops. You can see the wood paneling behind her. It’s still in great shape but the floors need redoing and most of the furniture has been replaced. Sometimes it makes me sad to go in the building, but it seems to be put to good use.
Here is a workshop held in the theater on the third floor. The ceiling has been restored and the murals remain on the walls. Great space.
Eli and Romy were in charge of a workshop for children, where they did face painting. Charna was helping and Romy painted her face, also. I think she did a beautiful job. I think I need little blossoms on my cheeks.
Friday bus riding
Getting lost, or being disappointed in Chicago, does not
have the same perks as in Japan. There, when I couldn’t see the Yanagi
map, or find a specific destination, something
wonderful, some surprise or pleasure, occurred as compensation. Here it’s just
gray and tiresome, at least in part because I know the city so well. No
surprises, no beautiful gardens (February, after all, and slush
abounds), no language problems, although occasional communication
glitches.
I began the day at Spertus Institute to see their new building and to talk to their archivist about donating photos and materials about my grandmother. From there, I got on the subway and went to Aiko’s, where I found they were closing the shop. I haven’t been a wonderful customer for them, but over the years, I’ve bought many beautiful papers and books. I’m sad to see them go. I almost felt like I was going to a cemetery to pay my respects.
I took the bus back downtown, walked a few blocks to Michigan Avenue and got on another bus going further south to find a bookstore specializing in books about Asia. I remembered the address wrong, slight dislexia on my part, and to my great disappointment, never found the shop. Should have called first — someday, I’ll learn. Then I got on the wrong bus, went far out of my way, and had to take still another bus to get back. There were no compensating discoveries in any of this.
Robin, Steve and Charna arrived in time for dinner and we all went to the folk festival, a good finish to a not so good day.
Thursday that I couldn’t write about until today
Thursday was a nice day: temperature above freezing with hints of sunshine. Romy, Eli and I went downtown, where I introduced them to the Cultural Center, easily one of my favorite places in Chicago. You can see lots of photos of the building here. This was, originally, the main building of the Chicago Public Library, and I spent many happy hours there as a young girl. It’s sitting on a prime piece of real estate, and for a while, there were plans to tear it down and sell the land for mega- mega-bucks. Wiser heads prevailed, fortunately, and the building now enjoys a second life as one of Chicago’s primary tourist attractions.
One of the stated reasons for tearing it down was that it no longer fulfilled it’s function as a library. They put the books in storage where they were largely unavailable, and some years later built the Harold Washington Central Library. Here’s a page with statistics about the building. Note that they don’t tell you how many books are shelved, or how much use is made of them. They also don’t mention that the most prominent feature of the building is the escalators taking up huge amounts of space in the center. I suppose I shouldn’t write all of this; I haven’t been over there since I moved from Chicago 10 years ago. Maybe they have filled the place with books by now.
That turned into a rant, didn’t it. I seldom know where I’m going when I start one of these posts.
We met Betty at the Center, spent a little more time there, then lunch and a walk through Millennium Park. The city has put up a winter event: Museum of Modern Ice. I found the snow on the Anish Kapoor sculpture more interesting. I’ll have pictures next week.
We spent most of the afternoon at the Art Institute. Eli and Romy left us to do some shopping and return to campus; Betty and I sat over coffee for most of an hour; then she left and I returned to the Art Institute to spend serious time in the Asian Art Galleries. They have a wonderful collection of Japanese woodblock prints. Each time I come there is something different to see, and I always enjoy them. As I walked through the galleries with Buddhist sculptures I realized, for the first time, that while they give lots of information about each individual piece, how it was made and what it represents, there is no information about where the piece came from and why it was made. This is the kind of thing I’ve been studying, the context of the work, and I was uncomfortable. In the past, when I looked at these pieces, I thought about them only in terms of what they are as free-standing objects; now I want all of the context. Amazing what a little learning does for you.
I walked back through Millennium Park to see the ice sculpture with lights on it. Sometimes they make things more interesting. Then dinner and back to my cell; a nice day.
Snowbound
Big nostalgia trip, being back here in Chicago.
Nostalgia is all I’ve got today sitting in my iHouse cell with a raging blizzard outside. Should have stayed in the here and now in Pittsburgh
I started school here in 1950, at the age of 16 and lived near the University for most of the next 7 years. Some things have changed, but the neighborhood remains very familiar to me. To belabor the obvious, I’m the one who has changed, but not in an expected way. This morning I left iHouse, walked a mile or so to the center of the University, in nasty, cold rain, and realized I never would have easily walked this far when I was 16; one or two blocks would have seemed excessive. No wonder I’ve always had a weight problem.
I went to the Oriental Institute, a wonderful museum on the campus, and then went to the Alumni House to look at old yearbooks and directories. One of the things about nostalgia is trying to put it all in the right place. I don’t look back very much, and my memory is often vague on dates. I looked up a few things and now I’m more confused than before. I guess there are some things I’ll never know.
I entered the University of Chicago after only 2 ½ years of the high school I hated. Several large schools had similar programs at that time. Chicago was my only option; my mother would never have allowed me to leave home and go to Yale or Columbia.
At that time, Robert Maynard Hutchins was chancellor of the University. He was hugely famous in academic circles, although seldom remembered now. Looking at the 1960 yearbook I found a speech he gave about power and responsibility, particularly the responsibility of government to use power responsibly. Much of what he said, almost 50 years ago, would be applicable to our situation today.
Hutchins was one of the early naysayers to McCarthyism
and the House Un-American Activities Committee and warned about the dangers of “anti-communism”. Were he still alive, I’m sure he would have much to say about the Patriot Act and the current bill awaiting Senate approval. It seems to me we are about to enter another period of this kind of paranoid behavior.
Now you know
I am so addicted to this computer I carried it with me in spite of it being too heavy; too much trouble; I’ll only be gone a week, I’m paying extra for internet access. Can’t seem to live without it. I am staying in a monastic cell in International House at the University of Chicago. I was a student here 55 years ago, so this is very nostalgic for me. I never stayed at iHouse when I was a student, but it bears a strong resemblance to my dorm room, although without the desk and chair I had back then. Enough complaining: it’s very convenient to Eli’s apartment; that’s why I’m here.
Eli went to work this evening and I took Romy out for dinner. Then we went to hear the New Budapest Orpheum Society: Super Tuesday/Fat Tuesday Concert, So that their voices will not fall silent — Jewish Cabaret in Exile. Performers from the music department played and sang music written before and during World War 2 most of it by Jewish musicians who did not survive the Holocaust. Songs from before the war, about corporate greed, fear, fantasies and freedom, seemed chillingly pertinent to our time.
I was going to write about my memories of being a student here, but the concert overshadowed them. I think it’s my bedtime so nostalgia will wait. We are supposed to get a lot of snow tonight; I may have plenty of time to write tomorrow.
Change of plans
I planned to drive to Chicago yesterday or Saturday. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good thing; after all, I spent 61 years in Chicago and should have known better. I watched weather reports all week on WGN, the Chicago cable channel. By Thursday, I was having second thoughts, Early Friday morning, when Betty called with more weather information, I gave up the idea of driving. I was fairly certain I could get from here to there without much trouble. The problem was what to do with the car once I got there. Street parking in Chicago is almost impossible in winter, and I didn’t want to pay to garage the car. So, tomorrow morning I will fly to Chicago, take a cab to the University of Chicago campus where I will be staying, and use public transportation for everything else.
The worst part of this is figuring out how to pack lightly. I was planning to take my laptop, some food, snowboots and an extra coat in the car. It’s supposed to be warm here tomorrow, 65F; I’ll be carrying one coat only, no boots, no food, which I almost never carry, and I haven’t decided about the laptop. I hate to think I can’t live for a week without my computer, but I think I can’t live for a week without my computer.
Oh, and why am I going? Because I still love Chicago and want to show Eli’s Chilean friend the things Eli hasn’t shown her. And next weekend is the University of Chicago Folk Festival, where we’ll be joined by the rest of the family for a folkie weekend. If I don’t take the laptop, I’ll be gone until next Tuesday.
Questions from Earl in Dallas
Thanks, Earl, for making me think about this. (Comment below) Certainly the page layout and the binding came out exactly as I originally envisioned them. I decided to include all the emails after I had completed the first 20 or 25 pages, so that meant reworking those pages. Fortunately, the computer and page layout program makes that fairly easy.
I toyed with the idea of sewing the binding with a thick hemp cord to emulate the cords used to differentiate sacred objects in Japan, 
but decided it might make opening the pages more difficult. I began sewing with waxed Irish linen carpet cord, decided I didn’t like it (too much of an industrial look) and used DMC embroidery perle cotton. My instruction book, Japanese Book-binding, by Kojiro Ikegami, calls for silk cord, a better choice, but I didn’t have any.
The picture on the cover took a lot of time, mostly for thinking. I began with a pattern, played with it, looking and moving pieces around for a week. I finally used some pieces from the pattern and more pieces I just cut to fit. In the end I used only the thrust of the pieces: diagonals moving left and right at the bottom; pieces in the center more or less vertical.
The pattern called for appliqué stitching by hand. I tried it; made a mess; ripped everything out. My eyesight, and patience, just aren’t up to it. I tacked the pieces in place, using something called Heatbond, then machine appliquéd around each piece. 
For the quilting, I found a pattern in a Dover book of Japanese clip-art; sized it on the computer; printed it on translucent paper; and stitched directly over the pattern. I had already couched the border using rattail cording directly on to a piece of the handmade paper cut to size. I think the whole thing took me about two weeks of not very steady work. I can only do this kind of work early in the day. My eyes (and brain) don’t function well at night.
Am I satisfied, Earl? Not really. I wanted the cover picture to be as professional as the layout. It didn’t make the grade, but it’s the best I can do for now.
The book is almost finished
Everything is completed except for drilling five holes and sewing the Japanese style binding. My page layout was done in Adobe InDesign. I copied all of the posts, comments and pertinent emails, along with the photos I originally posted and some additional materials. Here is a sample page with comments on the side:
This page has emails in the sidebar:
Page with additional material. Most of these materials were linked in the blog.
The book has 144 pages, printed on both sides. I am trying to maintain a Japanese spirit in it. Here I have used binder clamps to hold the pages together, then created paper clamps at the top and bottom of the left hand side of the stack. The piece of white paper is shielding the pages from the binder clamps. The paper clamps, which are decorative only, are made of Japanese paper I bought years ago at Aiko’s Art Materials in Chicago.
Using more of this paper, I created endpapers that will go under the covers.
I cut boards for the covers about one-half inch larger than the inside papers. I then cut one-half inch off of what would become the left, binding side, of the boards, and glued this piece about a quarter inch away from the board. Holes will be drilled in that space, allowing the pages to open more easily. I’m sorry I forgot to photograph the boards so you could see the placement of the extra space. This type of binding is usually finished with soft covers that would not require the extra space.
Here is the finished cover, a truly global effort. The picture is actually a quilt (3 layers) made of fabrics I brought back from Japan with the addition of a few bits of silk I had from others sources. I sewed it down to the handmade paper from Japan, using thread I bought in Paris, many years ago. The little beads are probably from India and merit a post of their own; someday I’ll write it.
100 Books Before I Die 