As all eyes were on Chicago last weekend, for the NBA All-Star Game, the telecast opened with an homage to the city that centered around a very ornate scale model of the city. Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Common, Buddy Guy, Chance the Rapper, Dwayne Wade, Isiah Thomas and other celebrities with a local connection hovered the city model and discussed what Chicago means to them.

You can see that video embedded below, and you can view the model, as well as the rest of the museum, in person at the Chicago Architecture Center, which happens to be running some very compelling programs, including a presentation this Monday entitled: “Current Projects: Discover Chicago’s Best Green Buildings.”

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The program will focus on Chicago’s leadership role in eco-friendly design, with libraries and academic facilities often setting the standard. Architects will discuss their newest green projects, with three speakers set to appear, including: 

Marcin Szef (who joined John Ronan Architects in 2008 and is the Associate Principal for the firm), Dan Rappel (director of sustainable design and a principal at Chicago-based architecture firm KOO) and Gabriel Wilcox (Associate Principal at Farr Associates and an award-winning architect with 14 years of experience designing high-performance sustainable buildings).

Rainwater harvesting, green roofs and eco-friendly gains through retro fit are some just of the standards and practices that will be detailed.

“We like to say here’s what’s going on in Chicago that speaks to larger trends of what’s going on across the country and around the world, said Ian Spula, Program Operations Specialist at the Chicago Architecture Center.

“These kinds of programs have a pretty strong following among our core audience.”

The program will spotlight the University of Chicago’s Keller Center which is “pretty significant,” says Spula, as “it’s among the first academic buildings to obtain the living building challenge, Pebble certification.”

The Kaplan Institute at IIT is another edifice that will be covered extensively by the program.

Many of Spula’s contributions to Architect magazine have explored topics related to sustainability; two examples are here and here.

Event FYIs

February 24, 2020 (registration link)

6:00 pm $20 public (includes CAC admission)
$15 CAC members Gand Lecture Hall, 111 E. Wacker Dr.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No,  I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation. 

You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.

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The word is out that February will soon be leaving, so enjoy its waning days.

Monday, February 24.

Mexican Flag Day. Not particularly relevant, just filler. We get paid by the word.

Tuesday, February 25.

  David Hawkins live in-studio and in a pre-broadcast attendable event on Folk Festival with Lilli Kuzma – plus Mardi Gras night. It’s zaftig Tuesday, or something. $15 suggested donation to attend, gping to the performer. Contact Lilli at [email protected]. 7 PM for the live concert, 8 PM for the broadcast. 90.9 FM, or www.wdcb.org.

Wednesday, February 26.

Naomi Ashley Band at The Wire, 6815 W. Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn. 8:30 PM.

Friday,February 28.

Briar Road at Two Way Street Coffee House, 1047 Curtiss St, Downers Grove. 8:15 PM. $10.

  Mark Dvorak at the Rockford Listening Room, 201 7th St, Rockford. 7 PM.

Saturday, February 29.

Siegel-Schwall Band, plus Ernie Watts and Lynne Jordan at Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St, Crystal Lake. 8 PM. $25 – $35.

Anne and Rod Capps, plus $11 Supper, at Maple Street Concerts, 220 Main St, Lombard. 7:30 PM. $18.

Mulligan Stew at Peggy Kinnane’s Pub, 8 N. Vail St, Arlington Heights. 8:30 PM.

Sunday, March 1. (we told you February was leaving).

Scott Cook at Windy City House Concerts in Chicago’s north side. 3 PM. [email protected]. 3 PM $20.

Siegel-Schwall, plus Ernie Watts and Goran Ivanovic at City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St, Chicago. 7 pM. $35 – $45.

Mulligan Stew at Firewater Saloon, 6689 N. Oliphant, Chicago. 11 AM.

Celebrate the first of March by sharing this article on Facebook. It’s a mitzvah.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Genre: Romance

Rating: R

Running Time: 121 mins.

Where Can You See It?: In theaters now (limited release)

Premise: On an isolated island, a female painter (Noemie Merlant) is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman (Adele Haenel), and the two fall in love while the young woman’s mother is away.

Behind-the-Scenes: Premiered to acclaim at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the award for Best Screenplay. Though it received a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign language film, its origin country (France) did not submit it to the Academy for the Best International Film Oscar. Hot Shots’ Valeria Golino appears as the mother.

The Good: Portrait is beautifully directed by Celine Sciamma (Girlhood, Tomboy), with sumptuous period detail and lush beachfront locations. It’s a deeply felt romance too, and Sciamma captures the characters’ longing quite well – every touch and glance means so much. Both lead actresses prove compelling screen presences. The painting scenes have a hypnotic quality to them. Who knew minimal brush strokes could be so fascinating? The final shot is a stunner, and will stick with you long after leaving the theater.

The Bad: It’s not exactly a fast-paced movie. These tales of repressed romance are usually a slow-burn, and Portrait is no different in that respect. It has a ton of heart and emotion, but the characters are somewhat two-dimensional. A little more humor and personality in the margins would have added a lot. Watch Little Women to see how to make a period piece feel modern and fresh – Portrait could have used some of Greta Gerwig’s touch. Call it a victim of overhype or maybe I’ve just seen too many romantic films of this ilk, but the movie does feel a tad derivative (think Carol, Brokeback Mountain), even though it’s a rock solid representative of the genre.

Should You See It?: Yes. It’s very well done, but you don’t necessarily need to seek it out in a theater. This will be a good discovery when it eventually hits streaming.

Star Rating: *** out of 5 stars

Better Than: Carol, Disobedience

Worse Than: Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name

* * *

For more movie/TV commentary and other mischief, follow me on Twitter: @Hammervision and on Letterboxd: @Hammervision

Occasionally-reliable sources are reporting that Donald Trump is preparing pardons for

well known figures  of whom –he allegedly alleges,–“fake history has been unfair  to,in their indictments slurring and sullying their good names”

Following is an alleged list of the alleged recipients of the alleged pardons. along with the President’ alleged commentary  defending their behavior.

1.  Attila the Hun: “Sure he wiped out a lot of people, but they must have been pretty bad hombres because today  “Attila-Not-Vanilla’ (as I callhim) is looked upon as Hungary’s George Washington,  Look it up.”
2. Gengis Khan:  ” Maybe he overdid it a little, but that guy got more pussy that probably anybody in history except maybe one or two others.  That’s why I consider myself a Khan man.
3. Charles Manson:  “Just because a couple of his disciples killed those left-wing Hollywood elitists, doesn’t make Charle guilty of murder.  Think of how many moms have found out that their kid has, say, stolen a candy bar and used the excuse that his friends steal too and told him he could do it to, then the mother says ‘if they told you to jump in the river, would you jump in the river? No.’ Same with Charlie.  They didn’t have to kill those enemies-of-the-people just because he told them to. Sort of the same as politics.  Just because a, oh say, big time office holder suggests that an underling do something, oh say, illegal or unconstitutional, doesn’t mean the office holder is guilty.  I call this my “jump in the lake” defense. And millions of Moms have my backside on this one.
4. Jeff Daumer.  “He should never have been charged with so-called “necrophilia”.  I maintain that the absence of a “No” constitutes legal consensual sex. Also, I resent a bunch of ‘Do-Gooders” telling other people–even presidential people–what they should and shouldn’t eat. Who do they think they are, Nigerian-born Michelle Obama?”
5. Ponzi.  “I don’t know the first name of this Captain of Capitalism, but the fake historians carp at him just  because he had an original idea,  They call it a scheme. I call it a business plan. I think they should build a shrine to this man, maybe make a biopic of his life called “Caveat Emptor Empire”… maybe starring Henry Winkler as “the Ponz,”
6. Robert Mugabe:  “Anybody who can become filthy rich in a shit-hole country  like his, whatever it was, must have taken a short-cut or two. That’s business. I call him a hero, “my African-American African”.
7. Richard Nixon:  “Fake historians overlook the fact that by  extending the duration of a war, he assured  that America maintained its continuous global dominance in wheelchair basketball.”
8. Caligula:  “Look , being the head of state isn’t exactly a bed of roses. To relieve the pressures, the guy  had to take time off for recreation.  I don’t think they had golf then, so instead he had orgies. Sort of like that guy Epstein –who I never really knew– used to have.  Those photos of me with him, I think you know are fake.  Just like the peepee tapes that the Democrats might try to publish later this year. By the way, I would have sent a condolence card to Epstein’s close friends and loved ones, but it turns out nobody actually knew him.”
9. Roy Cohn:  “A great philosopher. And my life coach.  Indeed, his wise words to me personally have guided all my actions all my adult life, to wit “Donald, never apologize. Instead attack your accusers at all costs.”  He taught me that you can even go after institutions like the military like he did with another hero of mine, Joe McCarthy.  Just to get more cushy duty and a commission for his G.I good friend, David.  That’s how come I can attack the CIA, the FBI, the Congress, the Judiciary, and all those disloyal people I hired at the time they were the best people but they turned into bad hombres.  And, boy, Roy was no homo and he stuck to that story till the day he died of, um, I don’t remember what he died of.  But I miss him. Such a loyal guy.”
10. Adolph Hitler:”Oh,I know he did a lot of bad stuff, but just like those guys that marched in Charlesburg or Charlestown or Charles whatever, there were some good things about him too. Those counterfeit  historians forget that he  incarcerated Socialists, Communists, Gypsies, Homosexuals, and Retards too. Plus he improved the railroads.  And he loved dogs.  I can even forgive him for being a vegetarian. And I don’t apologized for that.”

Do you suspect your couch potato dog may need a companion?

Are you looking for someone to chat with about the weather, the future of the MCU* or how work is going?

Meet Corrigan, aka Goose**, an independent, curious, de-saturated orange cat. He’s cool with a chill dog or cat, or with flying solo…if you’re currently cat- or dog-free. He’s about 2 years old.

To meet Corrigan, write to us at [email protected] !

Hyde Park Cats is a local, all volunteer group dedicated to helping stray and homeless cats in and around Chicago’s Hyde Park. We received our 501(c)(3) status in 2014 and have had over 1,200 adoptions since our founding in 2008. See all our adoptable kitties on our webpage: http://hydeparkcats.org/adopt/

All of our cats are in loving foster homes, which means the cat you adopt will be familiar with the sounds, smells and movements of life in a home and accustomed to living with humans. He or she has been interacting on a daily basis with people who know this particular cat intimately, and the foster mom or dad can tell you all about the cat’s individual personality, habits, preferences. You can’t judge a cat by its cover! And while we can’t predict the future or know everything about a cat, we can help you choose the cat who is right for you. We have an adoption application and an adoption fee, $95 for the adoption of one cat or $190 for a pair. This fee goes towards covering their vet costs. All cats adopted out by us are neutered/spayed, micro-chipped, tested for FIV/FeLV, and treated with Revolution.

Elaine walks right up to anyone who visits, and is very curious about new people and things.

She’s very playful; she loves playing with any kind of toy but especially wands, and she’ll run, jump, and flip all over the place to try to catch a laser pointer.

She’s not much of a cuddly lap cat, but she always wants to be around people. When her fosterer is walking around, Elaine follows, and when her fosterer is still, Elaine naps next to her.

To meet her, write to us at [email protected] !

Hyde Park Cats is a local, all volunteer group dedicated to helping stray and homeless cats in and around Chicago’s Hyde Park. We received our 501(c)(3) status in 2014 and have had over 1,200 adoptions since our founding in 2008. See all our adoptable kitties on our webpage: http://hydeparkcats.org/adopt/

All of our cats are in loving foster homes, which means the cat you adopt will be familiar with the sounds, smells and movements of life in a home and accustomed to living with humans. He or she has been interacting on a daily basis with people who know this particular cat intimately, and the foster mom or dad can tell you all about the cat’s individual personality, habits, preferences. You can’t judge a cat by its cover! And while we can’t predict the future or know everything about a cat, we can help you choose the cat who is right for you. We have an adoption application and an adoption fee, $95 for the adoption of one cat or $190 for a pair. This fee goes towards covering their vet costs. All cats adopted out by us are neutered/spayed, micro-chipped, tested for FIV/FeLV, and treated with Revolution.