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From Japan to Chicago and Back Again, A Review of Yasuhiro Ishimoto at DePaul Art Museum

RECOMMENDED

The “Yasuhiro Ishimoto: Someday, Chicago” exhibition at the DePaul Art Museum is part of the Terra Foundation for American Art supported Art Design Chicago series. Yasuhiro Ishimoto was a photographer who came to Chicago through a War Relocation Authority resettlement program that sought to disperse and integrate Japanese Americans after they were released from internment camps. Though he moved to Japan, where he had spent much of his early life, he would live and work in Chicago off and on for the rest of his career. This exhibition traces Chicago’s role in his studies and professional work and how that would influence Japanese photography and photo publishing.

Presented in two galleries on the second floor, the show starts with a digital slideshow of the “Amache Photo Album.” This album is a collection of images Ishimoto made between 1942 and 1945 while interred at the Granada Relocation Center in Colorado, also known as Amache internment camp. While this was only the start to his practicing photography, the album shows a style that would continue throughout his career and that made his decision to attend the Institute of Design Chicago (now part of IIT) to study photography was a logical choice. Studying under Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan, Ishimoto brought his interest in abstract details and visual juxtapositions to investigating Chicago’s urban environments.

Ishimoto’s work ranged from taking photos of people’s legs as an unusual form of portraiture to documenting African-American political activity in an ever more segregated Chicago to pure photographic abstraction. Ishimoto made several photo books of this work and the show includes examples of them and those of photographers in Japan who were inspired by his work. The exhibit features two films Ishimoto collaborated on, one as a student in Chicago, the other later in his career in Japan. The films are done in very divergent styles, but both display the importance of abstraction and a certain angularity that runs throughout Ishimoto’s oeuvre.

The haphazard layout of the exhibit is most evident in the labels. The exhibition integrates photographs and art books by other artists who influenced, worked with, or were influenced by Ishimoto. Unfortunately, the labels, which group information for several pieces, many untitled, do not clearly identify whose image is whose. This leaves viewers guessing. (Alisa Swindell)

“Yasuhiro Ishimoto: Someday, Chicago” shows through December 16 at DePaul Art Museum, 935 West Fullerton.

Source: https://art.newcity.com/2018/12/04/from-japan-to-chicago-and-back-again-a-review-of-yasuhiro-ishimoto-at-depaul-art-museum/

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WATCH: The Top Ten Comebacks of the Joe Maddon Era Will Make You Guess and Smile

I’m still digesting and enjoying the hell out of the Cubs’ massive YouTube video dump/re-launch, and I just watched the Top Ten Comebacks of the Joe Maddon Era with my buddy Jim, who is also here in Arizona. It was fun to sit there with a buddy and watch the games, remembering back to where we were when they happened, what we were thinking at the time, and trying to guess what games were coming next.

Watch this and enjoy, but maybe before you do, see how many you can peg. I could name seven of the ten off the top of my head before this started, but I’ll confess that one of the ones I was missing is extremely embarrassing, because it’s the best game I was ever at Wrigley for.

Oh, I’ll also say they absolutely got the top three right and in the right order.

Enjoy:

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2019/03/12/watch-the-top-ten-comebacks-of-the-joe-maddon-era-will-make-you-guess-and-smile/

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One Superior Place apartments have an ideal River North location

The attractions at the pool deck at One Superior Place in River North include lush landscaping, trellised seating and grilling areas, and what’s beneath the deck: Whole Foods and its Amazon prices. The on-site Whole Foods is just one of the enviable location’s many attractions.

Apartments at One Superior Place boast expansive views from wide balconies, spacious layouts, in-unit washer / dryers and newly-updated kitchens and baths in select units.

Floor plans and near real-time rent and availability info are online. Select a unit type and click “Lease now” to find your best price.

Join us in the videos for narrated tours of a variety of apartment layouts.

One Superior Place has extensive amenities in addition to its award-winning pool deck. It also has a walk-to-everything location a block from the CTA Red Line stop at Chicago, great proximity to Mag Mile shops and River North and Gold Coast dining and drinking establishments. Loyola University’s downtown campus and Northwestern Memorial and Lurie Children’s hospitals are nearby.

One Superior Place is pet-friendly. Service-oriented management, maintenance and leasing staff are on-site, along with 24/7 door staff.

Source: http://yochicago.com/one-superior-place-apartments-have-an-ideal-river-north-location/61654/

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Hints of perch, crappie, waiting on ice: Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report

Oh, I might be getting a little ahead of myself, but a look at the late-week weather forecast and I guarantee (thanks Justin Wilson, the late Cajun chef, not the Cubs pitcher) that at least some will be thinking or even trying to find ice fishing by this weekend up north.

Well, I chatted with Kurt Justice of Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Tuesday afternoon and he said that temperatures are not to go above freezing until the deer opener on Nov. 17 and there will be ice fishing by then.

Larry Green tweeted the photo at the top and the note below:

With that and a dash of hopes for perch to really get going on southern Lake Michigan, it’s on to the the sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

The condensed Midwest Fishing Report appears Wednesdays on the outdoors page of the Sun-Times newspaper. The sprawling raw-file report is posted here online on the Sun-Times outdoors page.

LAKEFRONT PERCH

It begins, at least somewhat. Staff at Henry’s Sports and Bait said some reports are coming from 95th.

Capt. Rich Sleziak  at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Ind. texted:

Perch starting cal park up river to 95 xl fatheads best bait guys in boats moving a lot doing best but some ok catching on bank just starting this will only get better

Please if u can say I’m on late fall winter hours 5 to 5 and I have 5 sizes of live minnows to choose from thank u

AREA LAKES

Some are still trying for the few remaining inland trout and a few are trying for crappie.

As for bass, Ken “Husker” O’Malley sent this:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing.

Area lakes- work bone colored jerkbaits when winds allow over the tops of deep weeds. A jerk-jerk-jerk-pause cadence worked best.

. . .

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

INLAND FALL TROUT: Click here for the statewide information on the fall inland trout season. We are three weekends in, so pickings are getting slim. Here are the nearby sites, including ones not included in the statewide release: Cook County (Axehead, Belleau, Busse North, Green, Horsetail, Sag Quarry East, Wolfe); DuPage (Silver, Pickerell, Grove); Kankakee (Bird Park Quarry, Rock Creek); Kendall (Big Lake at Silver Springs SFWA); Lake (Sand Lake at Illinois Beach SP, Banana); McHenry (Spring Grove Hatchery Pond); Will (Lake Strini, Van Horn Woods).

Here are the important details from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

All anglers . . . must have a valid fishing license and an Inland Trout Stamp, unless they are under the age of 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces. The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.

AREA RIVERS

Click here to find river closures listed by the Illinois DNR. Go to http://water.weather.gov//ahps2/index.php?wfo=lot to check area water levels and projection. To get to more specific gauges, even on creeks, in Illinois, go to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/il/nwis/current/?type=flow

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Closed for the year.

CALUMET SYSTEM

No update.

CHAIN O’LAKES

Tim Baker sent this:

TimmyBakes’ Fishing Report 11/6

. . .

I spent all Saturday fishing the fox chain for crappie with a few buddies and despite the cold, windy conditions, we ended up with 26 crappie. We fished two points on the lake in ranging depths from 20-30 feet. We marked fish using our graph before fishing and most fish were relating to the bottom.

We ran through a gamut of baits including spoons, jigs, plastics, and jigging raps before finally realizing that livebait was what they wanted. Since the fish were near or on bottom we rigged small minnows on a drop shot. Using minnows, leeches, crawlers, or waxies on a drop shot rig is simple and an effective way to fish anywhere.

Brad Irving at Triangle Sports and Marine said crappie are going in the back channels, especially tight to the walls, but there are also some out in 10-15 feet on Marie; white and yellow bass are also going in 10-15 feet on Marie with some evening walleye shallow; catfish have been surprisingly good on cut bait and stinkbait.

Check updates at Fox Waterway Agency or (847) 587-8540 for more information.

STRATTON LOCK AND DAM: The lock is closed through April 30. Click here for more info on the lock and dam.

CHICAGO RIVER

Capt. Pat Harrison at Pat Harrison Outdoors sent this:

Chicago River and Lake Front Report.

Weather was up and down again last week surface temps 52degrees at the locks and 57 down river near River City. I was out for a couple ½ day trips. The first of the 2 produced a couple smaller Largemouth bass a 13”  and a 16” and a lot of Gills from 6” to 9 ½ “ not what we were looking for but a ton of action. The second trip was a Father his son and his sons friend we fished hard for bass for awhile with no results and ended up chasing Gills again. The Boys had a lot of Fun and caught a ton of Gills they were Happy.

I took the time to teach them more about fishing. Even brought out the long rods 12 footers and showed them how to setup and use them to do a bit of speed fishing. Going into this week I have a couple trips. I would really like to see the weather settle down and the surface temps on the river hit 48 degrees. The past few years that seems to be the Magic number for the Bass to put the feed bag on.  Smaller crank baits moved slower along the seawalls should produce well. Good Luck out there stay warm and dry and hopefully  catch some fish.

Capt. Pat

DELAVAN LAKE, WISCONSIN

No update this week.

DES PLAINES RIVER

Tim Baker sent this:

TimmyBakes’ Fishing Report 11/6

Despite the recent rain, the Des Plaines River water level was low over the weekend in the south suburbs. On Sunday morning I fished alongside my three brothers and together, we managed a handful of largemouth bass. Fish were caught on worms and spinnerbaits in current breaks off the main river. The two oldest (and ugliest) brothers reeled in the bigger bass but we all caught fish.

Pike fishing still continues into the late fall while fish continue to feed-up for winter. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits are good choices but remember as the water cools down, you need to slow down! Casting baits will continue to work well but don’t look past livebait, it’s a quick way to learn what lives in a river!

We spoke with a fly fisherman braving the conditions, wading the river, on our way out who claimed to have caught two healthy pike earlier in the week. He had no fish at the time we spoke, but I hope his luck end up changing.

Check out this Des Plaines River Pike Caught on Video! (Credit: Zenfish)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalB5IEGJnI

DOWNSTATE NOTES

LAKE SHELBYVILLE:  Check with Ken Wilson of Ken Wilson Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.

Larry Dozard of Larry’s Fishing Hole sent this update on closures and fall/winter hours at some Downstate sites:

BANNER MARSH:* THIS AREA Will CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING on Oct. 17th. With the Last Day to Boat Fish being Oct. 16thAND BANK FISHING ONLY ALLOWED AFTER 1PM but NO FISHING ALLOWED in EAST POINT ACCESS AREA, (lakes to the East) which is CLOSED TO ALL FISHING to provide a GOOSE REFUGE AREA during season

CLINTON LAKE:An easterly area of Clinton Lake (The Waterfowl Refuge Area) between the DeWitt Bridge East (CH14) and the Rt. 48 Bridge . . . remains Closed typically until April 1st.

COFFEEN LAKE:During the Central Zone waterfowl season: No fishing north of the railroad tracks (upper pool) until after 1pm daily through Jan. 31st

DOUBLE T STATE FISH and WILDLIFE AREA:

* THIS LAKE IS CLOSED TO FISHING – . . . till Feb. 1st

EMIQUON PRESERVE:No boating, fishing or ice skating access before 12:00 pm during waterfowl hunting season.Oct. 27 – Jan. 31Lake users should be aware that hunting might occur on the Preserve other times as well.

EVERGREEN LAKE:– A SOUTHERN PART OF EVERGREEN LAKE – AROUND DEER ISLAND and ALL OF SIX-MILE CREEK BAY

 IS CLOSED TO GAS from Oct. 15th through JAN. 1st to allow resting areas for migratory waterfowl.  YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STILL RUN A TROLLING MOTOR ONLY IN THESE AREAS.

HENNEPIN-HOPPER LAKES:  * Lakes are CLOSED for season.. And will be Open spring 2019.

McMASTER LAKE at – SNAKEDEN HOLLOW:Lake will CLOSE TO FISHING on Oct 15th . . . Lake will Re-Open on February 1st.

NEWTON LAKE:As written in the fishing regs booklet : * The cold arm of Newton Lake shall be CLOSED daily  from one-half hour before sunrise until 1:00 pm to all fishing and boat traffic except for legal waterfowl hunters during waterfowl season commencing with regular duck season through the close of the Canada goose and regular duck season.* For here – Regular South Waterfowl Season for 2018: Nov. 10 – Jan. 31

PRAIRIE LAKE in Jim Edgar/ Panther Creek State F&W Area:Lake Partial Closures during Waterfowl Season from Nov. 1st to Jan. 15th Lake access is CLOSED until after 12:01 PM on Wednesday & Saturday.

POWERTON LAKE:*- Lake Will RE-OPEN to Shore Fishing on Dec. 24th– but – Will Remain CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING Until Feb. 15th

RICE LAKE: Will Re-Open at end of Duck & Goose season.

SANGCHRIS LAKE:* THE WEST & EAST ARMS OF LAKE and Small AREA NEAR DAM WILL CLOSE DURING WATERFOWL SEASON to boat traffic . . . through Jan. 31, 2018

SPRING LAKE (South & North):Last Day of Boat Fishing in Hunting Areas is Oct. 19th  As – THIS AREA will CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING in Hunting Area on Oct. 20th— with BANK FISHING ALLOWED ONLY AFTER 1pm–– AREAS THAT REMAIN OPEN TO BOATS ALL DAY ARE NORTH OF MAPLE ISLAND with ramp at  north end at the Sky Ranch Road launch and IN PIKE HOLE with carry in boats —and Shore Fishing is allowed in entire lake after 1pm in Hunting areas or at boat ramps all day.

FOX RIVER: WESTERN SUBURBS

No update.

FOX RIVER, WISCONSIN

No update.

GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN

I could use somebody to give winter reports.

GREEN BAY/STURGEON BAY

No update this week from Lance LaVine at Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay. Click here to see the Wisconsin DNR’s Lake Michigan Fishing Report.

HEIDECKE LAKE

Closed for year.

ILLINOIS RIVER

Bill Guerrini of the Spring Valley Walleye Club sent this note on Monday:

Barto Landing Closed

Barto Landing will be closed for the next 5 to 10 days.

Construction of our “rock berm” will start on Tuesday 11-06-18

and conclude by 11-15-18 (weather permitting).

Walleye1 ><))))*>

On fishing and conditions, check with B&B Live Bait in Ottawa–(815) 433-0432.

INDIANA STREAMS (LAKE MICHIGAN TRIBUTARIES)

Access points for Trail Creek can be found on the Trail Creek Access Map. Access points for Little Cal and Salt Creek, which are closer to Chicago than Trail Creek, may be found at littlecal_saltcreek_access.

KANKAKEE RIVER

Kyle Lund sent the fishing report below:

Hey Dale another report from the Kankakee. Fish are still grouped up as they were from last weeks report and seemed as if they were grouped according to size. There are some big changes that will improve fishing but I think it will also shorten the fall bite by a few weeks. The flow of the river has quadrupled and the gauge height has more than doubled in the last week. Water temps are still hanging low 50’s and high 40’s. The new water and higher flow will bring with it fresh bait from the creeks and cloudy water. Fall plus fresh water coming into the river at creek mouths is every fisherman’s dream. I went out Thursday and noticed a decent mudline at the Davis creek mouth stopped to fish it and landed over 20 smallmouth and a small walleye from the edge of that mudline on a swim bait. No really big fish but that tells me they are strapping on fall feed bags and will be feeding aggressively over the next few days with the rising water and new forage entering the river. The walleye bite should be firing up any day as well. Guys are getting one here and there but this rise in water levels and upcoming cold snap should be exactly what they need to flip their feeding switch. Snow is being talked about over the coming weekend and then a strech of highs in the mid 30’s with rain and lows in the teens overnight could shut things down very quickly. The next 4 to 6 days should provide some great fishing on the Kank. I will be heading out to my favorite fall walleye spot where last year I lost one of the biggest walleye of my life because I didn’t take the time re-tie after a snag and a few fish. Hopefully I’ll have a picture with the beast to share in next weeks report. Until then embrace the changing conditions and get catch em up!

In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone. Ray Bergman

Always good to read Lund the whole way through. Would not have expected a quote from a trout guy, such as Bergman, but it fits.

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN

Click here to see the Wisconsin DNR’s Lake Michigan Fishing Report. It generally comes out Tuesday.

LAKE ERIE

Click here for bag limits and prospects for the season from the Ohio DNR. The Ohio DNR has general Lake Erie info and a fishing report.

LAKEFRONT

A smattering of perch reports.

Staff at Henry’s Sports and Bait said there are still some salmon around.

SALMON SNAGGING: Snagging season is open at four spots on the Illinois lakefront. Here is the word from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

Snagging for chinook and coho salmon only is permitted from the following Lake Michigan shoreline areas from October 1 through December 31; however, no snagging is allowed at any time within 200 feet of a moored watercraft or as posted:

A) Lincoln Park Lagoon from the Fullerton Avenue Bridge to the southern end of the Lagoon.

B) Waukegan Harbor (in North Harbor basin only).

C) Winnetka Power Plant discharge area.

D) Jackson Harbor (Inner and Outer Harbors)

LaSALLE LAKE

Closed to fishing.

MADISON CHAIN, WISCONSIN

Check updates from D & S Bait on Facebook.

MAZONIA

Closed to fishing, except for Monster Lake at Mazonia South, which is open year-round to fishing.

MENOMINEE RIVER, WISCONSIN

Mike Mladeik at Mike Mladenik Guide Service is done for the year.

MILWAUKEE HARBOR

Click here to see the Wisconsin DNR’s Lake Michigan Fishing Report. It is generally out Tuesdays.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

MINOCQUA:  Kurt Justice of Kurt’s Island Sport Shop sent this:

Following a too hot and wet September, then a cold, wet, windy October, the first three days of November were incredibly nice, weather wise!  Nicer than any three days in October it seemed.  Now back to reality!

Rain, snow and wind came crashing back down to the Northwoods, with temps not forecasted to reach above freezing till the deer opener (Nov 17th).

Lake surface temps, up in the mid 40’s, will certainly start to fall again over the next two weeks.  Not very many anglers out there, but…

Musky:  Good – Lack of wind required using trolling motors to move suckers till the weekend.  Still good action on suckers, slow moving glide & jerk bait or rubber baits.

Crappie:  Good – Not numbers but big slabs this week to 15 ½” over drowned wood of 14-18’.  Medium and even large fatheads under slip-floats best.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Big Smallies!  Most of 18”+ with fish to 21 ½” stacking up along deep water transition areas.  Larger minnows (suckers, chubs) best.  Not many anglers targeting, but those that do – great fishing!

Walleye:  Fair – Action slow.  Fish at many depths, from 24-75’, but tough to convince to bite. Best on live minnows near wood in 18-24’.  Deeper, mud flats use jigging Raps or Lindy rigs with larger suckers or chubs.

Cold for forecast means limited reports for next week also.  Dropping water temps will get the hard water anglers excited.  Keep eye on our social media for reports.

Kurt Justice – Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com Like us on FaceBook

—

NORTHWEST INDIANA

Capt. Rich Sleziak  at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Ind. texted:

Whitefish on Michigan city peir and st joe peir has been decent fishing the bottom with little spawn saks and small peices of skein some I’m waxworms too must be on bottom

Lake trout at Michigan city peir also casting and jigging blade baits spoons and crankbaits

When weather allows wind wise fishing reef area out of burns ditch trolling and casting is picking up

The crappie bite is going good in the river burns ditch just up stream from portage marina around docks and brush piles minnows or jigs tipped with waxworms best some real nice one pulled out since my last report to u

Perch starting cal park up river to 95 xl fatheads best bait guys in boats moving a lot doing best but some ok catching on bank just starting this will only get better

Please if u can say I’m on late fall winter hours 5 to 5 and I have 5 sizes of live minnows to choose from thank u

ROCK RIVER, ILLINOIS

No update.

ROCK RIVER, WISCONSIN

No update.

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

The Wisconsin DNR’s Root River Report is usually out Tuesday or Wednesday. Click here to see it.

ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN

Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said whitefish are going at South Haven; otherwise there are some walleye and steelhead in the river.

ST. JOSEPH RIVER, INDIANA

Click here for reports from the Indiana DNR.

SHABBONA LAKE

Lakeside–(815) 824-2581–is closed for the season, boat rentals are by appointment only in November.

Park hours are 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. through Jan. 31.

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

The Wisconsin DNR’s Lake Michigan Fishing Report restarted. Click here to see it. Streams flow info is at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wi/nwis/current?type=flow.

WINNEBAGO SYSTEM, WISCONSIN

No update.

WISCONSIN DELLS

Check with River’s Edge.

WISCONSIN RIVER

Sunrise on the Wisconsin River. Provided by Rob Abouchar

Rob Abouchar sent this wrap-up:

Hi Dale

I knew it was time to “pull up” the season as the reggae singers say when I got to the launch Saturday morning.  The sunrise was so spectacular any fish catch would have been insignificant which was a moot point because I did not get a bite by noon and headed to the house.  There were more duck hunters seen than anglers and the water temps hovering at 39 degrees. The river and weather were strangely calm but the bite was non-existent.   The Pileated woodpecker sighting at the launch as we pulled out was further confirmation of one of the best seasons ever.  Big Fish Rock and Roll Guide Service had the opportunity to put many anglers on personal best fish and first fish ever.  Big thanks to those who made the trip to fish the Wisconsin River/Alexander Flowage.  Looking forward to Braidwood opening in the Spring but may give the Ice Fishing a try in Merrill.

Tight Lines

Rob

Pileateds are very noticeable birds, sound and vision.

WOLF LAKE

No update.

WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN

No update.

Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/hints-perch-crappie-waiting-ice-chicago-fishing-midwest-fishing-report/

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Cubs 4, Marlins 0: Jose Quintana dominates, again

It took nearly two years, but perhaps at last, the Cubs have the Jose Quintana they thought they were trading for in the summer of 2017.

Q was dominant for the second consecutive start. He didn’t allow a run and the Marlins got just six hits off him in seven strong innings, which gives him a scoreless streak of 14 innings. The Cubs shut out the Marlins 4-0 for their second straight win. Quintana also didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven. His 29 Ks rank fourth in the National League and there are some pretty big names ahead of him: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Luis Castillo.

Marlins starter Pablo Lopez made easy work of the Cubs in the first two innings, then David Bote led off the third with a double. Two outs later, Daniel Descalso drove him in [VIDEO].

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That was a really nice at-bat. Down 1-2 in the count, Descalso reached out on a pitch that could have retired him and laced it into right field for a single to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

The Cubs increased that lead to 2-0 in the third. Two singles were followed by Willson Contreras being hit by a pitch to load the bases. Bote grounded out and a run scored.

Meanwhile, Quintana kept mowing down Marlins. One of the outs he recorded was thanks to Albert Almora Jr., who made this brilliant diving catch [VIDEO] on a sinking liner hit by Starlin Castro in the sixth.

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At the time, the score was just 2-0 and if Almora doesn’t catch that, it probably goes all the way to the center-field wall for a triple and a run scores.

Javier Baez made it 3-0 Cubs with this long home run [VIDEO] in the eighth.

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Fun fact time!

Javy was hitting .232/.271/.464 when this little streak began; his slash line now reads .314/.342/.600. Oh, and that home run ball? CRUSHED!

Joe Maddon allowed Q to start the eighth, as he had finished seven with just 89 pitches, but a leadoff single brought Brandon Kintzler into the game. Kintzler, who has been very good so far this year, did allow a single and a walk — but not until after he erased the single given up by Q with a double-play ball.

Ben Zobrist, batting for Kintzler, completed the Cubs scoring with this sacrifice fly [VIDEO] in the ninth.

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Pedro Strop, who hadn’t pitched since last Thursday, entered in what was now a non-save situation to throw the ninth. And he, too, was helped out by Almora’s defense [VIDEO].

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Thus the complaint department door is closed and locked tight this morning. Excellent starting pitching, solid relief work, timely hitting: What more could you ask for?

Since starting the season 2-7, the Cubs have won five of their last seven and have outscored their opponents 35-14 in that seven-game stretch, thus averaging five runs per game and allowing just two. They now have a run differential of +12 — best of any team in the N.L. Central — despite the current 7-9 record. Things are now going the way most of us expected them to, I’d say.

The Cubs go for the series sweep Wednesday night in Miami. Cole Hamels gets the start for the Cubs and Sandy Alcantara goes for the Marlins. Game time is again 6:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage Wednesday will be via NBC Sports Chicago.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/4/17/18411819/cubs-marlins-recap-jose-quintana-javier-baez-mlb-scores

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Quick note on Lincoln Square single family home sales this year

Single family homes converted from two-flats remain arguably the most attractive and desirable housing stock around Lincoln Square. All photos Eric Rojas, Broker, Kale Realty (get out and take your own photos)

It's high season to shop Lincoln Square single family homes.  The trend lately has been slow fall seasons followed by super-hyper spring markets starting earlier every year (January). Several homes I have viewed or presented to clients this spring had been listed "pre-MLS" (pocket listing) or in the MLS Private Network. It takes research and digging every day to get the jump on these "pre-market" homes.

I sent this Lincoln Square entry level home out to my network three days before it hit market.

For example 4838 N Oakley asking $1,138,000 was listed on a private network for Top Producing Agents that I belong to. I was able to send it to my clients to consider pre-open market. Prior to going on the the MLS for the public to see an open house was held and a contract accepted prior to being listed on the open market.  I sent another "off-market" gorgeous single family home in Waters School district to my clients. It was sold before going to open market.

23 single family homes are currently under contract in all of Lincoln Square. The median asking price of those homes is about $600,000.

Source: http://www.ericrojasblog.com/2019/03/quick-note-on-lincoln-square-single.html

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Observations from the Bulls 2019 Summer League, featuring two promising rookies

The Chicago Bulls adventures in the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League didn’t end with a title like it did in the glorious 2016 campaign. The 2019 squad went 2-3 and lost their consolation game to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, 85-73.

With Wendell Carter Jr. out due to surgery, and Shaq Harrison waived after the first game, there were only a handful of Bulls playing who will be on the main roster come October. Coby White, Daniel Gafford, Chandler Hutchison , and new two-way signing Adam Mokoka all got major minutes. Walt Lemon Jr., Justin Simon, Jonathan Holmes, and Windy City Bull Mychal Mulder all got some burn off the bench as well.

While Summer League can be misleading at times when it comes to projecting exactly how prospects will play in the regular season, this years Bulls showed us signs. Some of the moments were good and others not so much.

Daniel Gafford could crack Chicago’s big man rotation

If you had to award an MVP award to anyone on this team, it would be Daniel Gafford. He was a force to be reckoned with in the paint on both ends of the court. Gafford averaged 13.8 points and 2.8 blocks per game during Summer League while also recording two double-doubles to go along with it.

Offensively, Gafford played effectively as a rim runner, using his athleticism to go and catch lobs from Chicago point guards. On the first play the Bulls ran in the tournament, he connected with Coby White for a nice alley-oop.

Gafford set a lot of screens and then quickly crashed down towards the rim. Playing off the pick and roll will be Gafford’s main role in his Bulls team.

He didn’t really shoot outside of the paint much at Arkansas and the same offensive mindset rang true in Vegas. While he was able at times to power through defenders with his back to the basket, It won’t happen the same way if gets time in the NBA. It’s still a good early sign he’s being aggressive enough offensively to go at his man when he notices a mistmatch. Gafford is able to strive off chaos on the offensive glass, leaping over players to slam home missed shots. He averaged 2.6 offensive rebounds per game in Vegas and will give Chicago a spark anytime he’s on the court.

Defensively, Gafford will be mainly situated in the paint and can help as a rim protector, coming over from the weak side to swat shots away. He isn’t afraid to go up and met guys up in the air with some tenacity. On the defensive boards he was aggressive fighting for rebounds anytime he got a chance, preven5int some demoralizing second chance points.

With WCJ, Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young, and (likely) Luke Kornet already in front of him, it’s a steep mountain to climb for Gafford. He will need to have an outstanding training camp and pre-season to get minutes, but balling out in Summer League should at least provide him a fair shot.

At the least it may have gained him some financial security, as Chicago signed Gafford under a very team friendly four year, $6.1M deal.

Coby White showed promise

While Gafford mostly shined during Summer League, White had a much more up and down tenure.

White struggled with turnovers, at times it looked like the game was happening way too quickly for him. There would be bad passes as he would try to force the ball to teammates when the window wasn’t there.

However, he had some some astute reads out of the pick and roll. White came off screens and when the near side pass wasn’t available, he fired an accurate ball to the corner.

Some of these plays, like the skip passes, weren’t being made when he was in college so White’s already showing improvement in the limited NBA time he’s had.

White frequently pushed the ball up the court, reinforcing the Bulls front office promise to be more of a running team this upcoming season. We saw it whenever White had the chance he raced up the court looking for an open man.

The biggest offensive flaw White showed was shooting the basketball. There were concerns about his pull-up shooting ability, and in in Vegas he struggled everywhere, going a paltry 33.6 percent from the field with a mere 10 percent on threes at six attempts per game. White has shown in college he can be effective off the catch and shoot, curling around screens for open jump shots. However in Summer League he couldn’t seem to buy a bucket with his jumper.

Defensively, White did a solid job. He rotated over one pass away and dropped in to help on drives when the Bulls big men were pulled away from the paint. In the regular season Chicago won’t be able to use him on any player other than point guards, but for Summer League he was solid. His lacking wingspan could be an issue when it comes to contesting but he’s shown good situational awareness when defending and gives a ton of effort.

Expectations shouldn’t be too high on White coming into this season. This stint in Summer League is an indication that his rookie year will be more of a feeling-out one. It’s going to take some time for him to fully adjust to the pace of the NBA. The Satoransky signing gives the Bulls a good stop-gap at point guard as patience will be needed for White and his development.

The pressure is on Chandler Hutchison

As one of the elder statesmen on this summer roster, it was not a good second go-around for Chandler Hutchison. Hutchison ran the floor and attacked the rim consistently, but he didn’t complete shots efficiently at all, shooting an effective field goal percentage of 31.4. He still looked unpolished in some offensive areas of his game and it’s not welcoming to see a second year guy struggled in Summer League.

Defensively, Hutchison was fine and didn’t get overmatched by anyone he was guarding. His 7’1 wingspan aids him staying in front of his man and there weren’t any monumental defensive lapses. He can still switch effectively and move his feet quick enough to stay with smaller players. Hutchison is not an elite on-ball defender by any means but he isn’t a negative one either.

While it’s certainly not the end of the world he struggled in Vegas, the clock is ticking. The Bulls are thin at the wing positions with Otto Porter Jr. being the only other player who will get the majority of his minutes at three. Hutchison’s rookie season was cut short due to a foot, a good Summer League performance was seen as a soft landing that could have gone a long way in helping his stock. He didn’t do that and now there are even more questions surrounding expectations for him.

Adam Mokoka has some upside

The final player of intrigue was Adam Mokoka, who Chicago signed to a two-way contract out of France just before Summer League began. Turning 21 at the end of the month, he’s a project for the Bulls to develop.

Mokoka gets after his man on defense, hounding him every opportunity he gets. Mokoka can destroy pick and rolls by making smart reads and makes his man think twice about passing the ball. The effort alone he has defensively is enough to disrupt plays. At 6’5 he can match up against guards and will be in their face every step of the way. This is the same thing we saw with Kris Dunn coming out of college, a certain intensity picks up when their man has the ball. If he does get some minutes with the Bulls, he will strength their perimeter defense.

Offensively, he needs a lot of work. His jump shot release is quick and he isn’t afraid to let it fly, as shown by his 4.2 three-point attempts per game. There were numerous times in Summer League where he would step into threes confidently, a good sign for a young player.

But the percentages need to be better. He shot 33 percent in Summer League from deep and it’s where the majority of where his shots came from. Mokoka will attack closeouts when defenders run up to him on the three point line and can get up for some dunks.

His playmaking, as noted in the tweet below, has shown some improvement from years prior.

There still is a lot to like from Mokoka who played in Serbia last season. He didn’t really stand out as some star like prospect but did flash the tools to be an effective player in the NBA. Chicago will have him with the Windy City Bulls for the majority of the year so keep a look out for him in the G-League. He’s certainly looks like an interesting prospect to follow.

Source: https://www.blogabull.com/2019/7/16/20695689/observations-from-the-bulls-2019-summer-league-featuring-two-promising-rookies

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Baseball history unpacked, October 31

A wildly popular Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history.

Today we look at some of baseball’s All-Hallow’s moments. There aren’t a lot, but the ones that exist are pretty Cub-flavored. No pumpkin spice!

Today in baseball history:

1931 - The Cardinals release right-hander Burleigh Grimes, the last legal spitballer. Ol’ Stubblebeard will finish his 19-year Hall of Fame career with a 270-212 record along with an ERA of 3.53. (1)

The story of Hall-of-Famer Burleigh Grimes:

“I used to chew slippery elm - the bark, right off the tree. Come spring the bark would get nice and loose and you could slice it free without any trouble. What I checked was the fiber from inside, and that’s what I put on the ball. The ball would break like hell, away from right-handers and in on lefties,” Grimes once said.

Grimes started out in unspectacular fashion, winning 5 and losing 19 in two years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before getting traded to the Dodgers. He was an immediate hit with Brooklyn, going 19-9 his first year and winning another 139 in eight additional years, “while leading the National League in complete games three times (1921, 1923, 1924), innings twice (1923, 1924) and both wins (1921) and strikeouts (1921) once.”

It was during the latter portion of his career that the spitball was outlawed, but Grimes (and 16 other pitchers) was/were grandfathered in and allowed to continue throwing the pitch. He pitched through 1934, and would end up playing for the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. His most noteworthy effort came in his second stint with the Pirates in 1928 when he again paced the NL in wins (25), games (48), complete games (28) and innings pitched (330.2). In 1931 as a member of the St, Louis Cardinals, Grimes claimed his first and only championship, as he won both of his starts in the World Series versus the Philadelphia Athletics.(5)

“The only time I was ever scared in my life was one time when Burleigh threw at me on a 3-and-0 count.” — Frankie Frisch (5)

1995 - Retired second baseman Ryne Sandberg announces that he will return to the major leagues in 1996. The ten-time All-Star signs a one-year contract to play for the Chicago Cubs. (3)

2005 - On Halloween night, former Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, on the night of his resignation, eludes the media parked outside Fenway Park disguised in a gorilla suit. At a future charity event, the hairy costume will be auctioned and will make $11,000 for the Jimmy Fund and Theo’s Foundation, To Be Named Later. (1)

2011 - Although offered approximately $4.5 million for a three-year extension, four times the amount of his previous salary, Theo Epstein decides to leave the BoSox after being the youngest general manager to lead a team to a World Championship. The split with team president Larry Lucchino, who hired the 18 year-old Yale undergraduate as an Oriole intern, gave him a position with the Padres before bringing the ‘Boy Wonder’ to Boston, takes the Red Sox Nation by surprise. (1)

2014 - The Cubs dismissed manager Rick Renteria, who, according to GM Theo Epstein, “deserved to come back for another season." The availability of Joe Maddon, announced as the team’s new skipper an hour after Renteria’s dismissal, puts an end to the first-year skipper’s managerial career in Chicago.

“We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization. In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. We decided to pursue Joe.” - THEO EPSTEIN, explaining manager Rick Renteria’s dismissal. (1)

Sources:

A note from my sponsor:

Happy Halloween! The Kindle versions of Test Patterns and Creature Features will be free for one day and one day only, today. . Also, Caravans Awry is just out. It’s not free but it IS awesome.

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Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/10/31/18045558/baseball-history-unpacked-october-31

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Chuck Pagano interviews for Bears defensive coordinator opening

Almost a week out from their elimination from the 2019 NFL postseason, the Bears have been on the prowl for a new defensive coordinator. With respected mentor Vic Fangio now the new Broncos head coach after helping Chicago become pro football’s best defense, head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace have the challenge of maintaining that stellar play. The next man on their to-do list is former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who officially interviewed for the Bears’ open defensive coordinator position on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

Pagano was last seen in the NFL as a head coach in 2017 as the Colts stumbled to a 4-12 record. Viewing Pagano as a poor hire due to the end, or even for much of the duration of his tenure with the Colts, would be disingenuous as to describing the defensive mind he is.

After recovering from cancer treatments in 2012, when Pagano took back over full-time in 2013 the Colts defense improved from 25th to 15th in defensive DVOA. The following year, Indianapolis improved to 12th overall: the peak of Pagano’s coaching stint with the Colts. When considering the fact that former general manager Ryan Grigson was less than generous in stacking the Colts’ cupboard with defensive talent, that’s something to be commended on the part of Pagano.

Pagano’s best year when leading a defense came as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2011, where Baltimore had the NFL’s best defense in DVOA. A season that acted as a resume springboard for Pagano to eventually become the Colts’ head coach. Terrell Suggs, in a similar role that Khalil Mack plays, ended up winning Defensive Player of the Year. The Ravens themselves went 12-4, won the AFC North, and managed to find their way to the 2012 AFC Championship Game: their season ironically ending on a missed field goal. Where Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed were players that responded well to Pagano’s coaching, Mack, Roquan Smith, and Eddie Jackson in similar roles can do just the same.

If the Bears were to hire Pagano as their new defensive coordinator, the former head coach would assuredly allow Matt Nagy to focus on game-planning for the offense: a crucial aspect of this hiring process. Pagano’s aggressive 3-4 scheme would also be a relatively seamless translation for the NFL’s best defense, talent still trumping all.

For the best defensive coordinator opening in football, it’s Pagano’s presence that could help keep the Bears’ premier dominance going. Life does, and must, go on without Fangio. With Pagano, it can.

Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network, managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/1/11/18179168/chicago-bears-chuck-pagano-defensive-coordinator-vic-fangio-baltimore-ravens-nfl-2019

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Royal Jordanian – $649: New York / Chicago / Detroit – Amman, Jordan. Roundtrip, including all Taxes

This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.

A good sale for nonstop service to Amman, Jordan.

A few of us on the team flew Royal Jordanian in January 2018 and February 2018 from New York to Amman to go checkout Petra and the Dead Sea, our experience was okay:

Do online check-in 24 hours ahead of departure to secure the best seat (if you have any Oneworld elite status, you can select it at time of booking for free. We have status and assigned our seats at booking, but we noticed that even 3 days out, a majority of seats were un-assigned and available at online checkin)

Bring your own food

Don’t expect much service

Inflight entertainment system is on-demand, but there wasn’t a whole lot of content

No inflight wifi

Checkin lines are long – if you don’t have status, show up early.

The planes are Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 3 x 3 x 3 configuration.

Here are some practical travel tips to Jordan from our trip earlier this year.  Jordan was definitely worth the trip – wish we had more time to explore.

Petra at Night, Petra, Jordan – Photo: Sylvain L. via Flickr, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Travel Date:

Sample from New York

January 17th – 24th, 2019

This is just ONE SAMPLE travel date, for more availability, please follow the “Fare Availability” and “How to Search for Availability” instructions below

Fare Availability:

Valid for travel from mid January 2019 – early March 2019. Must purchase at least 3 days in advance of departure

Please note that while this fare is valid at time of posting, if this post is more than two days old, the fare is likely gone.

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The ITA search page should be like below when all values are inputted

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Fare Class:

Routing:

JFK – AMM (Amman) – JFK

Stopover:

Mileage:

Royal Jordanian is a member of the Oneworld Alliance and American partner. Mileage earning with American is as follows:

Miles Flown: 11,446 miles or 5.6 cents per mile.

Elite Qualifying Miles: 0 miles

Redeemable Miles: 0 miles

This fare will earn 50% mileage with Iberia Plus program.

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Background Information:

Visa: US Citizens – Visa on Arrival – 40 JOD.  Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database

Currency: Jordanian Dinar (JOD).  $1USD = 0.71 JOD

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Source: https://www.theflightdeal.com/2018/12/04/royal-jordanian-649-new-york-chicago-detroit-amman-jordan-roundtrip-including-all-taxes/

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Indicators leading you into the summer market

It’s clear we’re in a transitional real estate market at the moment, but the destination isn’t quite as obvious. While this year has been notoriously difficult to predict in terms of home sales, there are three indicators that can point to the future of your business in a pretty reliable way: pending home sales, new-construction activity and listing traffic.

Sales in the pipeline

Today, the National Association of Realtors released their latest report on contract signings, which revealed a slight decline. The forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.5 percent over the month of April. Compared to this time last year, contract signings were down 2 percent, which NAR noted made this the 16th straight month of annual decreases.

Even though pending home sales are a leading indicator for the market overall, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that there are other, more recent factors that may bode for a better summer than the numbers indicate. “Though the latest monthly figure shows a mild decline in contract signings, mortgage applications and consumer confidence have been steadily rising,” he said in a release accompanying today’s report. “It’s inevitable for sales to turn higher in a few months.”

And there’s another bright spot in the data for Chicagoland: As was seen in recent home sales data, the market in the Midwest appears to be faring better than others. It was the only region that didn’t record a drop in contract activity, with the index growing 1.3 percent to 96.8 in April, (though this level is 2.4 percent lower than last year at this time).

Still, Yun specifically called out the higher end of the market in Chicago’s home state as a place of vulnerability. “Price conditions are soft on the upper end, especially in high tax states like Connecticut, New York and Illinois,” he said. “The supply of inventory for homes priced under $250,000 stood at 3.3 months in April, and homes priced $1 million and above recorded an inventory of 8.9 months in April.”

Builders squeezed out beyond the ‘burbs

In a market ruled by inventory levels, new-home construction is also an important leading indicator. And an interesting trend emerged from the National Association of Home Builders’ quarterly Home Building Geography Index this month. In the first quarter of 2019, the only geographic type that registered any growth in single-family permits issued was the exurbs. Such areas are generally defined as farther-flung suburbs that attract wealthy families.

Outlying counties in large metro areas (defined as having more than 1 million in population) accounted for 9 percent of single-family construction for the first quarter of 2019. In that time period, the growth rate in those areas, which include parts of DeKalb County, Grundy County, Jasper County and Newton County, was 6.1 percent, with a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase.

Homebuilders cited construction costs as the primary reason for this finding. “Housing affordability is a root cause of soft single-family permit issuance nationwide,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde. “A shortage of buildable and affordable lots is forcing builders to increasingly look further outside of suburban and metropolitan areas to find cheaper land that provides more building opportunities.”

NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz agreed, noting that because suburbs and smaller cities are seeing rapid price increases, exurbs are winning the building war. “Housing costs are increasing fastest in large metro suburban counties and smaller metro areas with populations under 1 million where demand for housing is high but supply constraints are tight,” he said. “Supply-side issues that are hurting affordability and raising costs for builders include excessive regulations, labor shortages, rising material costs and a dearth of buildable lots in mid- to high-population centers.”

Buyer traffic slows

A final leading indicator to watch on the residential front is the volume of buyers who are out looking at houses. ShowingTime, a Chicago-based showing software and market statistics service provider for the residential market, puts together a monthly index measuring this activity, and the April data is not all that positive. In fact, the index showed the ninth straight month of decline in showing activity nationwide. But in the Midwest, the news was again better than it was elsewhere. While the West and South saw declines of 11.1 and 8.1 percent respectively, Chicago’s home region only clocked a 7.1 percent decline year-over-year, which was actually a smaller annual drop than we saw during the first three months of the year respectively.

Of course, this doesn’t measure all the showing activity out there. The company bases its reports on a representative sample of more than 100,000 listings from 25 local markets across the United States, focusing on properties listed by agents subscribing to ShowingTime’s software. Though another commonly cited report measuring this activity from Sentrilock hasn’t come out for April yet, their March foot traffic report also recorded a slight decline.

Still, with the competitive year 2018 turned out to be for those on the house hunt, it’s likely many buyers’ agents bringing clients out to listing appointments are thankful for the increased breathing room.

Source: https://chicagoagentmagazine.com/2019/05/30/indicators-leading-you-into-the-summer-market/

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Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 8, Reds 6 – May 25, 2019

OMG THE BULLPEN CLOSED OUT A WIN!!! AND THE CUBS BEAT THE REDS AGAIN!!!

On the cusp of what would have been a very nice, long start considering the conditions and the pop in the opposing lineup, Yu Darvish was asked to come out for the 8th inning and protect a then one-run Cubs lead. The first batter homered to tie the game, the next batter singled, and then it was in the hands of the bullpen. Gulp.

But Kyle Ryan, Victor Caratini, and Dillon Maples combined to get out of that inning with the game still tied, and then David Bote went hero in the bottom of the 8th with a run-scoring double (Kyle Schwarber later added a sac fly), and the Cubs had a two-run lead heading into the 9th when Tyler Chatwood was tasked with closing things out.

Two quick singles, and your heart was pounding. It was happening again.

But then a mound visit from Tommy Hottovy (calling the “get a double play grounder” play) settled Chatwood, who got out of the inning two batters later.

The Cubs had built a three-run lead (as they did yesterday) on the strength of early dingers by Albert Almora and Addison Russell, plus an RBI double by Anthony Rizzo. Jason Heyward later added a homer of his own.

That is to say, great job offense. Decent job, Darvish. KILLER JOB, BULLPEN.

Full box score.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2019/05/25/enhanced-box-score-cubs-8-reds-6-may-25-2019/

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Court labels copyright plaintiff as a troll and shuts down efforts to ID anonymous infringer

When a copyright plaintiff does not know who a particular alleged infringer is, it must first send a subpoena to the ISP assigned the IP address used to commit the alleged infringement. But the rules of procedure do not allow the sending of subpoenas until after the 26(f) conference – a meeting between the plaintiff and defendant (or their lawyers) to discuss the case. A plaintiff cannot have a 26(f) conference if the defendant has not been served with the complaint, and the complaint cannot be served unless the defendant’s identity is known.

So you can see the conundrum. To break out of this not-knowing, plaintiffs in situations like this will ask the court’s help through a motion for leave to take early discovery. That way the plaintiff can learn who the defendant is, serve the complaint, and move the case forward.

In the recent case of Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia put a stop to the efforts of a plaintiff that it called a copyright troll right to its face (or at least right in the text of the opinion). The court denied Strike 3’s motion for leave to take early discovery to learn the identity of an unknown BitTorrent user accused of downloading pornography.

The court held that the plaintiff’s request was not specific enough, and the privacy interests of the unknown defendant, together with the social harm of being wrongfully accused of obtaining “particularly prurient pornography” were not outweighed by the trollish plaintiff’s need for the information.

Key to the court’s ruling was the idea that a subpoena in circumstances like this must be able to actually identify a defendant who could be sued. The court noted, however, that

Strike 3 could not withstand a 12(b)(6) motion in this case without resorting to far more intensive discovery machinations sufficiently establishing defendant did the infringing—examining physical evidence (at least the computers, smartphones, and tablets of anyone in the owner’s house, as well as any neighbor or houseguest who shared the Internet), and perhaps even interrogatories, document requests, or depositions. Strike 3’s requested subpoena thus will not—and may never—identify a defendant who could be sued.

The opinion is an entertaining read and conveys the judge’s clear frustration with copyright troll plaintiffs. Below are some of the more memorable quips.

Regarding the flaws of using IP addresses to identify people:

[Plaintiff’s] method [of identifying infringers] is famously flawed: virtual private networks and onion routing spoof IP addresses (for good and ill); routers and other devices are unsecured; malware cracks passwords and opens backdoors; multiple people (family, roommates, guests, neighbors, etc.) share the same IP address; a geolocation service might randomly assign addresses to some general location if it cannot more specifically identify another.

Regarding the public shame of being accused of infringing porn:

… But in many cases, the method is enough to force the Internet service provider (ISP) to unmask the IP address’s subscriber. And once the ISP outs the subscriber, permitting them to be served as the defendant, any future Google search of their name will turn-up associations with the websites Vixen, Blacked, Tushy, and Blacked Raw. The first two are awkward enough, but the latter two cater to even more singular tastes.

How trolls are quick to flee:

Indeed, the copyright troll’s success rate comes not from the Copyright Act, but from the law of large numbers. … These serial litigants drop cases at the first sign of resistance, preying on low-hanging fruit and staying one step ahead of any coordinated defense. They don’t seem to care about whether defendant actually did the infringing, or about developing the law. If a Billy Goat Gruff moves to confront a copyright troll in court, the troll cuts and runs back under its bridge. Perhaps the trolls fear a court disrupting their rinse-wash-and-repeat approach: file a deluge of complaints; ask the court to compel disclosure of the account holders; settle as many claims as possible; abandon the rest.

It’s pretty much extortion:

Armed with hundreds of cut-and-pasted complaints and boilerplate discovery motions, Strike 3 floods this courthouse (and others around the country) with lawsuits smacking of extortion. It treats this Court not as a citadel of justice, but as an ATM. Its feigned desire for legal process masks what it really seeks: for the Court to oversee a high-tech shakedown. This Court declines.

The court’s decision to deny discovery is anything but the rubber stamp approach so many judges in these kinds of cases over the past several years have been accused of employing.

Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, 2018 WL 6027046 (D.D.C. November 16, 2018)

Source: http://blog.internetcases.com/2018/11/20/court-labels-copyright-plaintiff-as-a-troll-and-shuts-down-efforts-to-id-anonymous-infringer/

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Josh Bellamy to sign with Jets per report

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, wide receiver Josh Bellamy is headed to New York to join the Jets:

Bellamy has been with the Bears since 2014, when he came over from Washington. Unfortunately, or perhaps, unfairly, he was mostly known for being an unreliable receiver. On the depth-plagued Bears in the John Fox era he became a an easy target for criticism for many fans.

However, he was a very good special teamer and was a core guy on that unit. As a receiver he had 76 catches for 999 yards and five TDs in just 14 starts and 67 games in Chicago.

According to NFL Game Stats and Information, had three special teams tackles and 14 catches on 25 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown last season. He also returned one kick for 15 yards.

In the playoff game against the Eagles he caught one pass for 34 yards and returned two kicks for 30 yards.

What will you remember most about Bellamy? Will the team miss him on special teams?

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/3/11/18260991/chicago-bears-free-agency-wide-receiver-josh-bellamy-to-sign-new-york-jets-report

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How Much Does Outdoor Space Matter? One Bennett Park at 451 E. Grand in Streeterville

The new construction luxury building One Bennett Park at 451 E. Grand in Streeterville has finished construction.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern, it boasts just 67 luxury condos, with 279 luxury apartments on the lower level.

Don’t worry. They each have their own set of lobbies and amenities so the condo owners don’t have to interact with the mere renters.

The condos have some exclusive features such as a limestone and granite motor court so passengers and visitors can be dropped off in privacy.

Another unique feature is that both the exterior, and the interiors, were designed by Stern and his team.

This northeast corner 3-bedroom came on the market in January 2019.

It is listed at $2.2 million, which is on the lower end for the building.

Crain’s Dennis Rodkin covered the first look at the building earlier this year:

For the Streeterville project, Stern’s design used large windows to take advantage of water views on two sides that the site affords, but he didn’t go for floor-to-ceiling walls of glass. The result, Bailey said, “feels more like a house you designed for yourself in Lincoln Park, but you’re 600 feet in the air.”

Thompson added that the buyers of these upper-price units typically “have traveled and collected things. They have art. If you live in a glass box, it’s harder to place those things in your home.”

Stern and his firm designed all details of the kitchen—including the stove hood, the cabinet doors and hardware and the light fixtures—expressly for this building. “You won’t walk into one of his buildings in New York and see the same things,” Bailey said.

All stone slabs on the island and backsplash are seamless, a design distinction that was available because the units were designed in advance by Stern instead of being sold as raw space for buyers to finish. Because of their size and weight, the slabs had to be delivered by a crane during construction.

These units have 11 foot ceilings, central air, and washer/dryer in the unit.

Parking is $75,000 extra.

As of March, about 40% of the units had already been sold.

This is a rare new building which did not build with outdoor space on most of the units (either balcony or a terrace.) Only a handful of units, apparently, have outdoor space.

Will lack of a balcony hurt sales of these units?

How much does it matter to buyers?

Erin Ward at Related Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #4302: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2121 square feet

New construction

Currently listed at $2.2 million

Assessments of $1496 a month (includes heat, a/c, gas, doorman, exercise room, pool, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)

Taxes are “new”

Central Air

Washer/dryer in the unit

Parking is $75,000 extra

Bedroom #1: 17×13

Bedroom #2: 13×11

Bedroom #3: 12×15

Laundry room: 7×8

This entry was posted on Monday, May 13th, 2019 at 5:02 am and is filed under Streeterville. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://cribchatter.com/?p=25929

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Bridget

February 17, 2015

I’ve never seen as many plaid scarves as I have this season! I love how Bridget styled hers with a navy toggle coat, heather gray leggings and black Nike sneakers. More evidence that you don’t have sacrifice style to stay warm this winter.

Source: http://www.chicagostreetstyle.com/2015/02/bridget-2.html

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Chicago’s cultural history, ambitious ideas covered in new book

In the opening pages of Chicago: From Vision to Metropolis, a thoughtful history and guide to the city from Whet Moser, the author invokes one of the city’s keenest observers, author Richard Wright. He calls Chicago the “known” city in the introduction of the 1945 text Black Metropolis by St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Clayton, saying “perhaps more is known about it, how it is run, how it kills, how it loves, how it steals, helps, gives, cheats, and crushes more than any other city in the world.”

However, Moser argues, “the known city generates new mysteries every day.” Even as “the grid, the El, and the lake… divide it into clean lines,” the city constantly keeps itself hidden away, its elusive character changing and escaping from view.

For Moser, a former editor at Chicago magazine and now a deputy editor at Quartz, the chance to leave a mark on the city was one of its main draws.

“It’s an inviting city, an open book into which visitors and new residents can write their names,” he writes. Since arriving in the early 2000s to attend University of Chicago, he’s lived all over the city, including Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Jefferson Park, Oak Park, West Town, and Humboldt Park. The experience contributed to the insider’s guide at the conclusion of the book: a rich collection neighborhood bars, restaurants, bakeries, and cultural institutions.

In the first chapters, Moser sketches out a brief history of the city’s past. He explores several moments where ambitions ultimately outstripped reality, from predictions in 1952 that the city would eventually house 13.25 million residents (the city’s population peaked at 3.6 million, according to the 1950 census), to a proposed Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper that would stretch a mile into the sky.

Perhaps because of the Second City complex that “never seems to go away,” according to Moser, the city has continually managed to thrive by ignoring more realistic expectations for its fate, propelling it forward toward unachievable new heights.

“Chicago has this long history of really aggressive boosterism, and people sort of will that destiny into existence,” Moser says. “Nobody really knew where things would go, so 13 million people seemed totally possible, and a lot of that has to do with how much effort was put into willing Chicago to exist.”

Moser addresses the inescapable link between Chicago and crime, one that’s stretched across the city’s history. From the gangster imaginary of Al Capone that lives on today in tourist shops and bus tours, to the constant invocation of Chicago as inordinately crime-ridden. Moser doesn’t make light of the city’s history, but details the devastating disinvestment in South and West Side neighborhoods that has lead to the present struggle.

“Going back over stuff I was reading for my research, it was overwhelming how much it’s been a part of the city identity,” Moser says. “For as long as Chicago has had a national and international reputation, even predating the gangsters of the Prohibition Era, it’s a part of how people view Chicago, and how we view ourselves.”

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Although the rapid changes facing the city today aren’t fully reflected in the text of Chicago, Moser’s thoughts about the future of the city are currently occupied by overlapping questions of gentrification, disinvestment, and the ongoing mayoral race. Moser describes the race as “totally wild,” making it hard to meaningfully predict its outcome. Though, he believes that the election will likely bring an end to the reign of strong mayors as embodied by Rahm Emanuel and the Daleys, causing a tectonic shift in city politics.

“Having a mayor who has to work harder to build coalitions, which no matter who wins, is almost inevitable, might distribute power back to the City Council, and might distribute power a bit more evenly throughout the city,” Moser says. “If the city is going to address the neighborhoods where the population hasn’t been represented as well, having the wider distribution of power could be good.”

While the outcome of this year’s election remains to be seen, Moser views the city resting on the edge of another transformative moment in its rich history, one that will give city observers fodder for renewed study and observation for generations to come.

“There has been a very concerted effort, for better or worse, by politicians over decades and decades to build up the downtown core,” Moser says. “My question is: when do you start reaping the benefits of that for the parts of the city that aren’t being helped? Now that a lot of the projects that have built up the city core have come to fruition, it could be a good time for that change.”

Source: https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/1/15/18183977/whet-moser-book-chicago-history-city-guide