mojosmom

My Italian teacher's cousin, who is the president of Slow Foods-Bretagne, is in town, and this afternoon she gave a short talk about the Slow Food movement, and fed us soup. Three kinds, one from the north of Italy, one from the south, and one from the central part. The northern one was panisse, a pumpkin soup, with potato and apple and leek; the southern one was cuccìa, of chickpeas, corn and wheatberries, and the last was ginestrata, a Renaissance-era soup of broth with Marsala, egg yolk, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. It was a good day for it, too, because it was rainy and a bit chilly - perfect soup weather.

Saw Motherf***er with the Hat again, because Teatro Vista did an event for potential donors. Reception beforehand, then the play, then drinks afterwards with some of the cast members, including Jimmy Smits, who seems like a really nice guy.

I also saw Teddy Ferrara at the Goodman, a play by Christopher Shinn loosely based on the Tyler Clementi case at Rutgers. Thankfully, it was very nuanced. A lot of the cast was young and not very experienced, and it showed, and the part of the university president wasn't terribly credible - he seemed awfully clueless for someone who had been a U.S. Senator and was now running a major university. It was worth seeing, but could use some work.

My practice tour at Robie House was successful, and I am now certified and will give my first public tour later this week. Wish me luck!

Went to a lecture this afternoon on the work of Irving K. Pond, whom none of you have ever heard of. Neither had I, until I saw the announcement of this program! He was a Chicago architect, trained by William LeBaron Jenney, was a friend of Jane Addams, built the town of Pullman, and did some houses in my neighborhood. Architect David Swan recently edited Pond's autobiography, and he gave the lecture and showed slides of Pond's work. Afterwards, there was a walking tour of his local houses, but it was a bit chilly and the drizzle had increased to actual rain, so I passed on that portion of the event.

Took my car in for service yesterday, and I barely recognized it when I picked it up. It was clean! It had gotten really grungy from the snow and slush, so I was glad it was warm enough for the dealer to give it a wash. The car had to be there for several hours, so I went home and cleaned my kitchen floor, which was in an absolutely disgusting condition.

One of the ways that the economic situation seems to have affected cultural institutions is that they are having free, or low-cost, events in order to promote themselves. I've been to two such lately. Chicago Opera Theatre recently hosted an event to introduce the upcoming spring season. It was held at the Mars Gallery, sort of off the beaten path in the gentrifying West Loop area. Various members of the artistic staff gave brief speeches, costume and set designs were on display, and there were nibblies and drinks, including a delicious "operatini", consisting of gin, sour mix and honey. That particular event actually cost me more than the ticket price, because I noticed this cross, by Shelley Barberot, a New Orleans artist, and had to have it:



A few days later, Steppenwolf Theatre Company hosted a free event to promote their production of "The Brother/Sister Plays", which I'm definitely going to try to get to, probably toward the end of the run, between my trips to Europe and New York! It was held at their rehearsal space, in the landmarked Yondorf Hall, and featured excellent food from a restaurant near me, as well as a performance by the Muntu Dance Theatre, followed by audience participation:



There were a couple of other events that night I was thinking of going to, but this one went on a bit longer than I expected, and I was a bit tired, so I didn't.

The people who run the Community Supported Agriculture program I was involved in last summer have started doing a Sunday brunch at a local café. Last week was their first, so I stopped by and the food was great. They do a buffet, but you can also get an entrée, together or separately. The buffet is all vegetarian, but one of the entrées is not. Last week it was salmon, and was very good.

Berlioz' Damnation of Faust at Lyric on Friday was just okay. The singers were great, but the opera isn't a favorite and the production was just so-so. They did some "updating", which generally was okay, but the descent into hell just isn't as scary when the demons are guys in suits and women with baby carriages. And, frankly, neighbors descending on Marguerite with pitchforks and frying pans because she's fornicating with Faust seems a bit unlikely in modern times! But I had an enjoyable dinner with the Harrises and Jim & Kevin. J & K were just back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand, where they had covered much the same ground as our friend Jamie (who missed this time because he's in Arizona with family) did a short while ago (visting the same friends, etc.), so the conversation had a bit of a déja vu feel to it!