The creative life can be, to borrow some words from the musical “Annie,” a “hard knock life,” or, as writer Maya Angelou once put it more gently, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Few people I know have more energetically devoted their life and talents to creating than Steve Rashid. Don’t know that name? I’m not surprised because, even though he has been a fixture of the local music and theater scene for decades, he has never been given to self-promotion. “My wife is always after me because I’m reluctant to promote myself so I promised I would let you know about an upcoming event,” he told me a few days ago. “I know you’ve always encouraged me to let you know when I’m doing new stuff, and so here I am.” This new stuff includes a six-song EP titled “is it beautiful there?” that was released last year. He never did an album release concert for it, he said. “Now I’m on the edge of recording my next batch of tunes and thought it would be good to do a concert of all new music, some already recorded, and some in process.” And so there will be performances in early May at Studio5, the Evanston venue started in 2016 by Rashid and his wife Béa, who is a choreographer, dance educator and theatrical director, as well as director of Dance Center Evanston and founder of the Evanston Dance Ensemble. I have seen many shows there. It is one of the area’s great spaces. As my former Tribune colleague, critic Howard Reich, tells me, “Studio5 somehow manages to combine the best of two worlds: the seriousness of a concert hall with the intimacy of a jazz club. So from the moment you enter, there’s no doubt that you’re here to listen closely, as you might at a classical recital. And yet the way the room looks — cafe tables upfront, huge rug on the floor, and wide-open/dance-studio vibe — conveys the relaxed atmosphere you usually find in the great jazz rooms. I’ve rarely felt more warmly embraced by a listening room.” A Wisconsin native, Rashid went to Ripon College and later Northwestern University and then began his professional life as producer, recording engineer, composer, performer, radio host and co-owner of Studio5. Few people have known Rashid longer than Paul Barrosse and Victor Zielinski, married Northwestern University alums who were among the founders in 1979 of the fabled Practical Theater Company, which also included Julia Louis Dreyfus and husband Brad Hall (married in 1987) until they went on to, ahem, other things. Barrosse recalls, “In 1983 and 1984, Steve would fill in as the piano player for our comedy revues. As Steve’s many talents were revealed, we were happy to take advantage of each and every one of them. Since 1986, he not only played piano with us, he became a featured member of the cast. He had his own songs, and we figured out how damned funny he is. Since then, he has been The Practical Theatre’s musical director and a central character in our shows. … Steve’s role in keeping jazz alive and thriving on the North Shore is not to be overlooked.” Zielinski adds, “He’s also a master juggler and there are always so many balls in the air at the same time, not the least of which is the day to day business of programming and running Studio5. He sees it as a community thing, bringing world class jazz into what he calls “our artistic playground.” And there he is, writing arrangements for the band, composing a witty tune about cancel culture and political correctness, drafting another message for the website, booking another season of jazz, recording his own music late into the night in his home studio, composing for the dance ensemble, preparing and editing his weekly radio broadcast on WDCB, arranging the musical program for The Community Church. He gets it all done.” Of next weekend’s show, Rashid says, “I’m kind of pulling out all the stops, putting together an octet of some of my favorite musicians. In addition, Béa is choreographing one of the pieces and will have one of her former students (a Juilliard grad, now a professional dancer) perform with us. Also, our son Daniel created a video for another piece which we will be projecting while I perform live to it, and our other son Robert will be the drummer/percussionist in the ensemble. So, very much a family affair.” Steve Rashid Octet-EP Release: “is it beautiful there?” will be 8 p.m. May 3-4 at Studio5, 1934 Dempster, Evanston; www.studio5.dance Energetic musician ‘gets it all done’ Steve Rashid plans a concert in Evanston in the Studio5 venue he helped create Rick Kogan Musician Steve Rashid plays in Studio5, the Evanston performance space he operates and performs in, on April 19. E. JASON WAMBSGANS/CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTOS Rashid in Studio5 in Evanston on April 19. Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 3 MOVIES MAY 3-5 CSO MAY 9-11 Artists, prices and programs subject to change. FAMILY MAY 11 Close Encounters ofthe Third Kind in Concert Mozart & Stravinsky Sound Waves Perfect for ages 5-12! MAY 2-4 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SYMPHONY CENTER | 220 S. MICHIGAN AVE. CSO.ORG | 312-294-3000 The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council. Official Airline of the CSO Sheherazade Elim Chan CONDUCTOR Paul Jacobs ORGAN WEBER Overture toDer Freischütz BARBER Toccata festiva RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Sheherazade MAIN FLOOR TICKETS START AT $35 Emmy & Tony Award winner JASON ALEXANDER makes his Chicago stage debut in an irreverent directed by Morit von Stu Rob Ulin NOW THROUGH MAY 26 See it this week: Today 2:00 Tuesday–Friday 7:30 • Saturday 2:30 & 7:30 in an irreverent new comedy written by Rob Ulin Ray and Judy McCaskey Pritzker Foundation BurtonX. and Sheli Z. Rosenberg Carl and MarilynnThoma MarkOuweleen andSarahHarding The Jentes Family MAJOR SEASON SUPPORTERS PREMIERE PRODUCTION SPONSOR oritz uelpnagel CHICAGOSHAKESPEARETHEATER
Former Chicago film office head and consultant Rich Moskal seconded that in a Tribune op-ed piece. “Big brands get attention,” he asserted. “They’re built for it. And make no mistake, Sundance is big.” But like many of the film world’s biggest players and most recognizable brands, Sundance has faced considerable churn and economic challenge lately: pandemic; the threatened collapse of commercial indie moviegoing; an increasingly sluggish sales market at recent Sundance festivals, making January a little extra cold. Last month Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente resigned her post. And last year, the Sundance festival went public with its interest in getting out of Park City after its contract expires in 2026, and finding a new city to call home. (Some speculate it’s a negotiating tactic, suggesting Sundance is too wedded to its Utah mountain resort and Robert Redfordfounded roots to up and move.) Several Chicago film festival programmers view Sundance Institute x Chicago as potential competition and a possible harbinger of a bigger disruption to Chicago’s packed festival calendar. In a recent Substack column headlined “McFilm Festivals: How ‘Chain’ Festivals Can Be a ‘Lose-Lose’ for Local Film Communities,” critic and curator Anthony Kaufman, longtime programmer for the Chicago International Film Festival and his own Doc10 festival, acknowledged his reliance on Sundance premieres for both local festivals. He argues that that “Sundance’s ‘big brand’ has the ability to threaten the existing festival landscape in Chicago.” And what about the long shot proposition? Could, and should, Chicago make a serious bid to bring the Sundance Film Festival here, come 2027? “I know there are some skeptics” among the Chicago film festival programmer ranks, Zeiger told me Wednesday. He’s the impetus behind the Chicago-Sundance foray. But “the outpouring of elation” from the local film community, he says, suggests the Sundance Institute pop-up in June — one of three film gatherings coming to town that month, along with Filmscape (June 21-23) and the Independent Film Exhibition Conference, June 25-28 — can open up new avenues for Chicago’s film creatives, current and future. I talked to Chicago critic and programmer Robert Daniels, associate editor of the rogerebert.com film site, about the implications of Sundance Institute x Chicago — be it a tantalizing first step or more of a slippery slope. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: What was your first reaction to the announcement of Sundance Institute x Chicago? And is the “X” silent, the way it was supposed to be with “Godzilla x Kong”? A: My first thought was one of excitement. I was, like, “Oh! This could be a cool thing!” Sundance has done something like this in other cities, and now a version of it is coming to Chicago, and Chicago is always fighting to be recognized on a larger cinematic stage. Then I took a step back and thought: Wait a minute. We have festivals here in Chicago that program their lineups, in part, based on what comes directly out of Sundance. What happens if you take that away? What happens if you take away the prospect of filmmakers and actors coming to the Chicago Critics Film Festival or Doc10? To borrow a quote from the first season of “The Bear,” it’s a delicate ecosystem here. And Sundance could throw a wrench into things, with some unforeseeable and foreseeable effects. Q: Here’s one thing that seems off to me. I haven’t heard back from the film office or Choose Chicago about what the city’s paying Sundance for the three days in June. But let’s say — pure guesswork here — it’s somewhere around $250,000. If that figure’s anywhere near reality, that’s roughly five times the city’s annual funding of the Chicago International Film Festival. And those are the improved recent years; in 2021 it was $9,000. A: Wow (laughs). Well, I suppose the argument can be made that whatever they’re paying Sundance is worth it. You get the big name, which is known worldwide even among those who know very little about film. But look at CIFF, which just came off one of the festival’s best programming years in their history. I thought the 2023 festival was in some ways better than Toronto’s. You hear those figures, and you have to wonder: What could CIFF do with that sort of money? And let’s say, hypothetically, that the Sundance festival moves to Chicago permanently. Right now I’m one of the programmers for the Chicago Critics Film Festival. We program heavily out of Sundance. Doc10 programs heavily out of Sundance. There was immediate discussion about how a regular Sundance presence in town would affect us. We were already hearing from filmmakers who were saying, “Well, uh, I think we’re waiting to see what this ‘Sundance Institute in Chicago’ is.” … It’s pretty clear that if Sundance does move, it’ll affect (the film festival planning) in whichever city it moves to. Q: If that’s the case, is the strongest argument for Sundance Institute x Chicago hinging on what it can do to foster some connections for Chicago filmmakers? A: I think so. I suppose we won’t know until we try it. Dip the toe in the water. The success of something like this Sundance pop-up might not be in any measurable monetary sense, but more like the potential opportunities that come out of it. So. We’ll have to see where opportunity takes us. But I’m not sure if this is a rising-tide-lifting-all-boats situation. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. Phillips from Page 1 By Jon Pareles The New York Times F rom the first seconds of Vampire Weekend’s new album, “Only God Was Above Us,” it’s clear that something has changed. “Ice Cream Piano” starts with hiss, buzz, feedback and a hovering, distorted guitar note — the opposite of the clean pop tones that have been the band’s hallmark. It’s the beginning of an album full of startling changes and wild sonic upheavals, all packed into 10 songs. The album, like all of Vampire Weekend’s work, is meticulous, self-conscious and awash in musical and verbal allusions — sometimes direct, sometimes cryptic. But it’s also a broad pendulum swing from its 2019 release, “Father of the Bride,” a leisurely, jam-band-influenced sprawl that ran nearly 58 minutes. “Only God Was Above Us,” the group’s recently released fifth album, has eight songs and is 10 minutes shorter. “With every album we have to push in two directions at once,” Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend’s singer and primary songwriter, said in a recent interview. “Sometimes that means we have to be poppier and weirder. Maybe with this record, it’s about both pushing into true maturity, in terms of worldview and attitude, but also pushing back further into playfulness. There’s a youthful amateurishness along with some of our most ambitious swings ever.” Koenig, 39, described the new album’s sequence of songs as “a journey from questioning to acceptance, maybe to surrender. From a kind of negative worldview to something a little deeper.” Ultimately, he said, the LP is optimistic. “It’s not a doom-and-gloom record. And even if there’s songs where the narrator is trying to figure something out or feels confused, that’s not all. That’s part of the story — it’s not the thesis of the album that the world is dark and horrible.” The album also exults in musical zingers, non sequiturs and startling off-grid eruptions. The songs often morph through multiple changes of tempo and texture, riffling unpredictably through indierock austerity, orchestral lushness, pop perkiness and hallucinatory electronic studio concoctions, like the cascade of wavery, overlapping piano lines in “Connect.” Where “Father of the Bride” had a folky openness, “Only God Was Above Us” is crammed with ideas that gleefully collide. “Distortion, heaviness, hardness,” Koenig said. “We were drawn toward those qualities on this record in a more direct way than ever before.” Vampire Weekend has always had two distinct aspects — its fastidious album work and its frisky live shows. The central one is the music the band constructs in the studio, which is minutely tweaked and painstakingly considered. Vampire Weekend’s songs uphold a long-established tradition of concise pop songwriting. But even as it delineates clear verses and choruses, the band pushes other parameters. “With some types of art, you probably have to put a lot of thought into how to create layers of meaning,” Koenig said. “Songs are, by their nature, relatively short. They have repetitive hooks. Then if you want to go maximalist and fill it with production details and arrangements, you can. And if you want the lyrics to push out into some weird place, you can.” Yet the basics of pop songwriting keep the band’s experimentation grounded. “You can zig and zag from verse one to verse two to verse three, but you keep coming back to the same chorus,” he said. “But now it’s recontextualized by the second verse. I think all that stuff is built into the format. It’s this great populist art form where you can get really out there, but the structure holds it together.” Beginning with the 2013 album “Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend’s studio output has increasingly been a collaboration between Koenig and producer and multi-instrumentalist Ariel Rechtshaid, who has worked on hits with Madonna, Usher, Haim and others. “I’ve been part of making things that sound expensive and beautiful,” Rechtshaid said. “But on this record, when the songs were at a certain stage, we were just, like, ‘This sounds exciting to us.’ It wasn’t a gimmick. It wasn’t like ‘Here’s the decision to make something that feels noisy or dirty or distorted.’ It’s that the songs were emoting properly.” Vampire Weekend will tour this summer — a job far removed from the band’s finely detailed studio work. Real-time performing used to be a fraught prospect for such a perfectionist group. “I would hear other musicians talk about ‘Oh man, you know, touring is tough, but then once you get onstage, all your worries go away and you’re just connecting with the audience,’ ” Koenig recalled. “And I’d think, ‘What are these people talking about? That’s when the worries start.’ ” For its 2019 tour, Vampire Weekend expanded its stage lineup to seven musicians and vocalists, opening up more possibilities in the songs and relieving some of the virtuosic pressures. “Now, when we get together to rehearse, there’s a youthful, playful vibe,” Koenig said. “We’re always coming up with ideas that make us laugh.” Along with recording and touring, Vampire Weekend may soon unveil a third facet. Vampire Weekend started meeting in a converted medical office in summer 2020 for weekly, pandemic-distanced jam sessions, playing in separate rooms and recording hundreds of hours of music. “The world had stopped working and a lot of what we normally do was just not being done,” drummer Chris Tomson recalled. “There was something about just playing with no expectation — to just play with my two very close friends without an agenda.” Bassist Chris Baio said: “It’s very rare for people in a band of our size to be alone together. No engineer, no tour manager, nothing like that. It felt like being at the outset of the band again. And we did that for three years and change, whenever we were all in town.” Those sessions may lead to the emergence of a new trio that happens to have the same members as Vampire Weekend, performing unreleased material. “We kind of have an imaginary back story for that band,” Koenig said. “It was a band that came out around 1989, 1990, and they were a little bit too punky for the jam scene and a little bit too jammy for the punk scene. And there’s a little bit of the Minutemen in there. “The truth is, this is very premature because that band is still hashing out its sound. I don’t want to say too much.” Could the unnamed trio open shows on Vampire Weekend’s tour? “That has been discussed,” Koenig said dryly. “We’re just trying to create a sound that we’ve never quite heard before,” he had noted earlier. “That’s what keeps us going.” 2 DIRECTIONS LEAD TOWARD 1 ALBUM Vampire Weekend pushes into maturity, back to youthful playfulness Ezra Koenig, from left, Chris Tomson and Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend, seen March 16 in California, recently released the album “Only God Was Above Us.” SINNA NASSERI/THE NEW YORK TIMES 4 Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024
Rena Pederson moved to Dallas in 1970 for her first reporting job. On one overnight shift, she saw a dispatch about a thief known as the King of Diamonds. In at least 40 burglaries over a decade, he had stolen several million dollars’ worth of jewels from Dallas’ elite. His Majesty was brazen, often breaking in when the family was home. He’d climb up to a second-floor balcony, jimmy a door and walk into the victims’ bedroom while they slept, find the jewelry and leave the way he came in. Pederson’s decision to investigate the crimes 50-plus years after they were committed is equally audacious. Even she concedes it was something of a fool’s errand: “The trail was cold as a morgue. ... Most of the victims and suspects were dead. And most of the records had been discarded.” She interviewed more than 200 cops, victims and neighbors. The result is as much a sociological study of upper-crust Dallas society as a true-crime story, enlivened by Pederson’s sprightly writing style. Despite police’s best efforts, the thief continued to outfox and amaze them. One told Pederson it was virtually unprecedented for the thief to stay in one area as long as he did — given his climbing abilities, he was assumed to be a man — and not get caught. Because the thief knew the layout of the houses, suspicion centered on people who traveled in or near the same circles. The Neiman Marcus jeweler who sold many of the items that were stolen was investigated. A hairdresser the socialites confided in was considered, as were two ne’er-do-well brothers who’d worked their way into high society. “King of Diamonds” is an enjoyable read, in large measure because of Pederson’s extensive, highquality research, obtaining compelling info from and about her subjects. “When people look back on the King of Diamonds era, they don’t remember the excesses — and inequalities — as much as they remember the great flair and style,” Pederson concludes. Which is exactly the way she wrote this book. — Curt Schleier, Minneapolis Star Tribune In “The Great Wave,” a cultural survey of the discontented present, Michiko Kakutani takes on a vast theme. But like the storming waters in the Hokusai print on the cover of “Great Wave,” the topic of chaotic change is so powerful it comes close to overwhelming the book. The new book reads as a sequel to “The Death of Truth,” Kakutani’s 2018 warning about how disinformation had chipped away at objective truth. In the new book, she is both embedded in the contemporary tumult and casting an eye backward. Viewing today as a “hinge moment” and frightened by what she sees (inequality, polarization, violence), Kakutani looks at other such moments in history. What she finds is sobering, though not without hope. In one of those moments, disruptions that flowed from the invention of the printing press, she finds present-day parallels. Just as the internet supercharged crackpot conspiracy theories and access to basic knowledge, Gutenberg’s invention spread superstition and pseudoscience while also kick-starting the Age of Reason. Kakutani expresses optimism that like in the past, we can find ways of “grappling with the mayhem created by new technologies,” such as artificial intelligence. There are moments in “Great Wave” where Kakutani’s thesis is hard to discern. Her concern about the history-proven potential for the disarray of hinge moments to be harnessed by fascists is well founded; she convincingly deploys Hannah Arendt for that argument. But her narrowly progressive lens limits the range of outcomes that she sees for our current era. In some ways, “The Great Wave” is as chaotic as its subject. Because Kakutani is such a confident and compelling writer, she always carries the reader along — even if it’s sometimes in the wrong direction. — Chris Barsanti, Minneapolis Star Tribune NONFICTION REVIEWS Brazen jewel thief targets Dallas’ elite ‘THE KING OF DIAMONDS’ By Rena Pederson; Pegasus Crime, 416 pages, $28.95. ‘THE GREAT WAVE’ By Michiko Kakutani; Crown, 256 pages, $30. “I Cheerfully Refuse” is a modern-day retelling of the myth of Orpheus, the musician who traveled to the underworld to rescue his wife. Leif Enger’s fourth novel is stunning, almost pitch-perfect, with a harrowing tale and beguiling characters. Narrator Rainy is a bear of a man who lives with his wife, Lark, in a village somewhere between Duluth and Thunder Bay along Lake Superior. Civilization is collapsing, with most money and resources swallowed up by “the astronauts” — that is, billionaires. For everyone else, society is teetering — schools have closed, the economy limps along through black markets and bartering, climate change wreaks havoc. Impoverished people sign six-year employment contracts under the “Employees Are Heroes Act,” only to find themselves serving as guinea pigs for government experiments. Lark and Rainy make a little money renting out a bedroom, which is how Kellan enters their lives. And when he does, everything falls apart. Kellan is on the run for breaking his contract with the government and maybe for something worse. Weeks after his arrival, disaster ensues, and Rainy flees for his life. He climbs aboard a rickety sailboat called Flower and steers into a Lake Superior storm. Along the way he picks up a stowaway, a raggedy, resourceful child called Sol, and the two become a team. Their travels make up the bulk of the narrative, and Enger’s writing is at its best here, confident and strong, with evocative descriptions of storms, water and sky. Rainy heads toward the Slates, where he believes the line between the afterworld and natural world has thinned and where he hopes to reconnect with Lark. But the fates have other things in mind. With all its tragedy and darkness, this novel is not depressing; it feels buoyant, like Flower itself. Even when the boat ends up sailing directly toward hell, you also know that Rainy and Sol won’t give up. “I Cheerfully Refuse” is a rare, remarkable book to be kept and reread — for its beauty of language, its gentle wisdom and its steady, unflagging hope. — Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star Tribune “The Black Girl Survives in This One,” a short story anthology edited by Saraciea J. Fennell and Desiree S. Evans, is changing the literary horror canon. The editors have upped the ante with a new collection spotlighting Black women and girls, defying the old tropes that would box Black people in as support characters or victims. The 15 stories are introduced with an excellent forward by Tananarive Due laying out the groundwork with a brief history of Black women in horror films and literature, and of her own experiences. She argues with an infallible persuasiveness that survival is the thread that connects Black women and the genre that has largely shunned them for so long. These are the kind of stories that stick with you long after you’ve read them. Many are set in the most terrifying real-life place there is: high school. Honestly, this was one of the best parts: seeing 15 different authors’ takes on a late-teens Black girl. Each protagonist is totally unique, and the overall cast of both characters and writers diverse. And even though we know the Black girl survives, the end is still a shock, because the real question is how. The anthology has something for everyone, from a classic zombie horror in “Cemetery Dance Party” by Fennell to a spooky twist on Afrofuturism in “Welcome Back to the Cosmos” by Kortney Nash. Two of the stories have major “Get Out” vibes, and if your flavor is throwbacks and cryptids, Justina Ireland’s “Black Pride” has you covered. Overall, it’s a bit long and could stand to drop a couple of the weaker stories. But it’s well worth adding to any scary book collection. — Donna Edwards, Associated Press FICTION REVIEWS Modern-day Orpheus sails to hell ‘I CHEERFULLY REFUSE’ By Leif Enger; Grove Press, 336 pages, $28. ‘THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE’ Edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell; Flatiron Books, 368 pages, $19.99. By Jessica Bennett The New York Times The first thing I did when reading Judith Butler’s new book, “Who’s Afraid of Gender?,” was to look up the word “phantasm,” which appears 41 times in the introduction alone. (It means illusion; the “phantasm of gender,” a threat rooted in fear and fantasy.) The second thing I did was have a good chuckle about the title, because the answer to the question of who is afraid of gender was ... well, I am? Even for someone who has written on gender and feminism for more than a decade and once carried the title of a newspaper’s “gender editor,” to talk about gender today can feel so fraught, so politicized, so caught in a war of words that debate, or even conversation, seems impossible. Butler’s latest book comes more than three decades after their first and most famous one, “Gender Trouble,” brought the idea of “gender as performance” into the mainstream. As it turns out, Butler — who has written 15 books since — never intended to return to the subject, even as a culture war raged. But then the political became personal: Butler was physically attacked in 2017 while speaking in Brazil and burned in effigy by protesters who shouted: “Take your ideology to hell.” This interview with Butler has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Did you ever think you’d see a world in which your ideas would be so widespread — and so fraught? A: When I wrote “Gender Trouble,” I was a lecturer. I was teaching five classes, trying to work on this book I thought no one would read. Still, I knew I wasn’t just speaking for myself. There were other people who were strong feminists but also lesbian or gay or trying to figure out gender in ways that weren’t always welcome. But today, the people who are afraid of my ideas are the people who don’t read me. In other words, I don’t think it’s my ideas that they’re afraid of. They’ve come up with something else — a kind of fantasy of what I believe or who I am. And, of course, it’s not just my views that are being caricatured, but gender more broadly — gender studies, policies that focus on gender, gender discrimination, gender and health care, anything with “gender” in it is a kind of terrifying prospect, at least for some. Q: So ... who is afraid of gender? A: It’s funny, I have a friend, a queer theorist. I told him the book’s name and he said, “Everyone! Everyone’s afraid of gender!” What’s clear to me is that there is a set of strange fantasies about what gender is — how destructive it is, and how frightening it is — that a number of forces have been circulating: Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, Giorgia Meloni, Rishi Sunak, Jair Bolsonaro, Javier Milei and, of course, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and lots of parents and communities in states like Oklahoma and Texas and Wyoming who are seeking to pass legislation that bans the teaching of gender or reference to gender in books. Obviously, those folks are very frightened of gender. They imbue it with power that I actually don’t think it has. But so are feminists who call themselves “gender critical,” or who are trans-exclusionary, or who have taken explicit positions against trans politics. Q: Can you describe what prompted you to return to this subject? A: I was going to Brazil for a conference on the future of democracy. And I was told in advance that there were petitions against me speaking and that they decided to focus on me because I’m the “papisa,” the female pope, of gender. I’m not quite sure how I got to have that distinction, but apparently I did. I got to the venue early, and I could hear the crowds outside. They’d built a kind of monstrous picture of me with horns, which I took to be overtly antisemitic — with red eyes and kind of a demonic look — with a bikini on. Like, why the bikini? But, in any case, I was burned in effigy. And that freaked me out. And then, when my partner and I were leaving, at the airport, we were attacked: Some woman came at me with a big trolley, and she was screaming about pedophilia. I could not understand why. Q: You thank the young man who threw his body between you and the attacker, taking blows. Was this the first time you’d heard that “pedophilia” association? A: I had given a talk on Jewish philosophy and somebody in the back said, “Hands off our children!” I thought, “What?” I figured out later that the way that the anti-gender ideology movement works is to say: If you break down the taboo against hom*osexuality, if you allow gay and lesbian marriage, if you allow sex reassignment, then you’ve departed from all the laws of nature that keep the laws of morality intact — which means it’s a Pandora’s box. The whole panoply of perversions will emerge. Q: As I was preparing to interview you, I received a news alert about the “Don’t Say Gay” settlement in Florida, which says that schools cannot teach about LGBTQ topics from kindergarten through the eighth grade but clarifies that discussing them is allowed. You write that words have become “tacitly figured as recruiters and molesters,” which is behind the effort to remove this type of language from the classroom. A: Teaching gender, or critical race theory, or even ethnic studies, is regularly characterized as forms of “indoctrination.” So, for instance, that woman who was accusing me of supporting pedophilia, suggests that my work or my teaching would be an effort at “seduction” or “grooming.” In my experience of teaching, people are arguing with each other all the time. There’s so much conflict. It’s chaotic. There are many things going on — but indoctrination is not one of them. Theorist doesn’t think people fear their ideas “There is a set of strange fantasies about what gender is — how destructive it is, and how frightening it is,” says Judith Butler, seen March 17. ELLIOTT VERDIER/THE NEW YORK TIMES ‘WHO’S AFRAID OF GENDER?’ By Judith Butler; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 320 pages, $30. Butler returns to topic of gender decades after most famous book Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 5
By Christopher Borrelli Chicago Tribune One of my favorite contemporary writers is this guy from Milwaukee named James Tynion IV. It’s a haughty name, except he writes horror comics. He writes other things, too, nothing that would suggest gravitas: Batman comics, Batman meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics. That is, unless you know the finest monthly comic books these days are far from indifferently written, or as hilariously overwritten as they once were, full of characters delivering tsunamis of exposition. So, this “IV” in your name, I asked, it’s there to compensate for writing horror comics? It’s there, he laughed, because his father (a longtime New York lawyer who specializes in the renewable energy industry) is James Tynion III. It’s just a professional distinction. Yet, as a gothic flourish, it lends mystery. Especially considering that when Tynion IV appears at McCormick Place for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, or C2E2, he comes as arguably the best writer in the medium right now, though not representing Batman or the Justice League but his own decade-long creations, very of-the-moment comics about federal conspiracy (“The Department of Truth”), world apocalypse (“The Nice House on the Lake”), mass disappearance (“The Woods”) and paranoia (“Something is Killing the Children”). He’s appearing at several talks on horror comics, as well as on a panel just about himself. We spoke by phone; the following was edited for length and clarity. Q: Did Wisconsin shape your writing voice? Speaking of paranoia and conspiracy, it is the home of the John Birch Society now. A: It’s in so many of my books. Where you spend your teen years is burned deeper than anywhere else, I think. Now that I’m in my mid to late 30s, my view is tipping toward my time in New York. But being from Milwaukee, there’s a feeling of being on the outskirts of culture. I was growing up as a young queer person during the Bush II years, and Wisconsin was a very purple state. Both sides were loud, so feeling caught in the midst of all that was formative. I was figuring out if I wanted to go to Pride Fest, for instance, even as I had classmates arguing whether or not there should be a Pride Fest. There was also a primal feeling from big dense woods. I had a ravine behind my dad’s house. Seeing it now: OK, there are houses there, and it’s not that huge. But as a child, it felt like staring into another world, and things were happening in the darkness. Q: Conspiracy, as a theme, became your thing. A: Yes, since horror reflects society. There’s a fear now that we are living in all these broken systems no longer intending to save us. Yet we have to use those systems. You ask yourself: What do I have to become to survive this? What am I willing to let myself become? I realized I could come at that theme from so many different angles. Right now I am doing a book called “Spectregraph,” and it’s a ghost story, and yet ghost stories are always about a fear of death. Instead, I wanted this one to be about a fear of life, partly told through the decay of capitalism. There is so much tension now in the fear of tomorrow and persisting, and I wanted to dig into that feeling, while using this genre. Q: Starting out, did you look to classic horror comics for inspiration? A: Honestly, I didn’t even know this was a lane to pursue. My way into comics was very much through Superheroland, but then I kept discovering the full potential of what comics could be. Neil Gaiman and “Sandman” made me want to pursue writing as a career, period. I also can’t deny the giants of pop lit. Lately, I’ve been rereading Stephen King and Agatha Christie, and what comes across is how effortlessly good they can be. Q: The funny thing is, as a young writer out of the creative writing program at Sarah Lawrence College, you were not only going into comics — historically known for bad writing — but horror, a maligned niche of a maligned medium. A: Absolutely, though I love that older schlockier stuff tremendously. And yet, to try to write in that voice is me trying to wear my dad’s old coat. It’s not how I write, and it doesn’t pull from my influences, and besides, there is a contemporary storytelling pace that you must work with now. And you can do that without leaning into nostalgia or the tropes of classic comic books, but I can see why older comics writers approached this material the way they did, and I can still take pointers. Especially with horror, which was always short stories, about the economy of storytelling. I still have to figure out how to squeeze something unsettling out of, say, only four or five pages. So you lean into that density. Horror is playing with tension. Yesterday and now, that’s what it is. C2E2: The 2024 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo runs through Sunday at McCormick Place South, 2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive; www.c2e2.com cborrelli@chicagotribune. com It came from Wisconsin A chat with James Tynion IV, king of comic book horror “The Department of Truth” by James Tynion IV, the first volume of a popular ongoing series about a shadowy organization within the United States government that manages conspiracies. IMAGE COMICS “Something is Killing the Children” by James Tynion IV is an ongoing comic book about a mysterious stranger named Erica Slaughter tasked with traveling to towns where its children are vanishing. BOOM! STUDIOS By Mark Kennedy Associated Press Heart — the pioneering band that melds Nancy Wilson’s shredding guitar with her sister Ann’s powerhouse vocals — is hitting the road this year for a world tour that Nancy Wilson describes as “the full-on rocker size.” “I’ve been strengthening. I’ve got my trainer,” she says. “You go one day at a time and you strengthen one workout session at a time. It’s a lot of work, but it’s the only job I know how to do.” The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who gave listeners classic tracks like “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You” and “Alone” will be playing all the hits, some tracks from of their solo albums — like Ann Wilson’s “Miss One and Only” and Nancy Wilson’s “Love Mistake” — and a new song called “Roll the Dice.” “I like to say we have really good problems because the problem we have is to choose between a bunch of different, really cool songs that people love already,” says Nancy Wilson. Like “Barracuda,” a sonic burst that first appeared on the band’s second album, “Little Queen,” and is one of the band’s most memorable songs. “You can’t mess with ‘Barracuda.’ It’s just the way it is. It is great. You get on the horse and you ride. It’s a galloping steed of a ride to go on. And for everybody, including the band.” The band’s Royal Flush Tour, which recently kicked off in South Carolina, will have Cheap Trick as the opening act for many stops, but Def Leppard and Journey will join for three stadium dates this summer. Heart will be filled out by Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar), Ryan Waters (guitars), Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals), Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean T. Lane (drums). The tour is the first in several years for Heart, which was rocked by a body blow in 2016 when Ann Wilson’s husband was arrested for assaulting Nancy’s 16-year-old twin sons. Nancy Wilson says that’s all in the past. “We can take any kind of turbulence, me and Ann, and we’ve always been OK together,” she says. “We’re still steering the ship and happy to do it together. So we’re tight.” The new tour takes them to Canada, which was warm to the band when they were starting out as what Nancy Wilson calls “a couple of chicks from Seattle.” She recalls Vancouver embracing them, and touring in a van across Canada in winter on two-lane highways. The Wilson sisters broke rock’s glass ceiling in the ’70s, and Nancy Wilson says they only had male influences to look to, like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Moody Blues. Now she says she looks out and loves seeing generations of female rockers. “You have boygenius and you have Billie Eilish and you have Olivia Rodrigo and so many amazing women — Maggie Rogers and Sheryl Crow, who calls us her big influence. And then Billie Eilish might have Sheryl Crow as her influence. So it’s a really nice legacy to pass along. I like to say we’re the OG — the original gangsters — of women and rock.” Heart has made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, won Grammys, sold millions of albums and rocked hundreds of thousands of fans, but Nancy Wilson has one place she’d still like to shine. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of their debut album, “Dreamboat Annie,” which was the same year that “Saturday Night Live” started. “So we’re actually kind of putting it out there — Heart never played on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ But what about the 50th birthday party with Heart?” Heart faces ‘good problem’ of what cool songs to pick on tour Nancy Wilson, left, and Ann Wilson of the band Heart are hitting the road for a new tour. JEFF DALY/INVISION 2013 6 Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 Health. Quality of life. Meaning. Purpose. March 3 - Palatine April 14 - Naperville April 21 - Evanston April 28 - McHenry April 28 - Deerfield May 4 - Chicago May 5 - Barrington May 18 - Chicago May 19 - Lake Forest June 1 - Tinley Park June 9 - Winnetka SPRING 2024 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE LECTURES CSMetroChicago.org/Lecture-Series Share your event information withreaders interestedinattendingsuch programs. Promote your next book event with an ad in the Sunday Literary Events section! For more information, contact your Chicago Tribune Representative or call312.222.4150 Deadline is the Tuesday prior to Sunday publicationdate.
By John Warner For the Chicago Tribune I started the new Netflix series “Ripley” as a decided skeptic. The show’s source material, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith, is one of my desert island books. The novel is a sui generis portrayal of a character without apparent conscience, but whom we nonetheless feel great attachment to. Other writers have been trying and failing to write Ripley-esque novels for generations. Previous adaptations of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” such as the 1999 film starring Matt Damon as the titular character, have not necessarily been terrible, but they also have failed to truly capture the essence of the indelible character Highsmith put into the world. “Ripley,” written and directed by Steven Zaillian, and starring Andrew Scott, demolished my skepticism. It is a stunning success in terms of transferring the spirit and impact of the book to the screen. The chief challenge of filming Ripley’s story is that the novel is narrated by Ripley himself, giving readers insights into the mind and behaviors of a man who cares little for others. In his 1999 review of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” Roger Ebert calls Damon’s Ripley a “monster,” which is true in the external sense, but is not how Ripley is experienced in the novels when events are rendered through Ripley’s point of view. With the interiority of the novel form removed, providing the audience a deep understanding of Ripley is a monumental task. One clear advantage over a two-hour movie is that “Ripley” the series unfolds over eight episodes, giving us a chance to establish greater intimacy with the character. There are numerous scenes where we’re asked to watch Ripley alone on the screen, and the stunning black and white cinematography and Zaillian’s painter-like framing of each scene prove immersive. The atmosphere of the visuals and the extended time that’s allowed for unfolding Ripley’s trajectory draw us into a foreign and stylized world. We follow Tom Ripley from his rat-infested New York apartment, as he gets by on petty schemes, to Italy, where he hooks up with the trust fund dilettante Dickie Greenleaf, ostensibly to persuade him to return to the U.S. at the behest of Dickie’s father. Tom quickly sees an opportunity in ingratiating himself with Dickie while claiming to Dickie’s father that he’s working for Dickie’s return. After years of knowing in the abstract that money is the key to life, Ripley sees up close what kind of life money allows for, and he will not be returning to his previous impoverished existence. The combination of script and Scott’s performance results in the same effect as Highsmith’s first-person narration in the novel. We understand where this so-called “monster” is coming from, to the point where even his most terrible actions do not seem so monstrous. Scott’s portrayal is an absolute marvel in its layering. Ripley the character is always performing for the people he’s interacting with, often awkwardly, even poorly at times early on as he is weird with Dickie and Dickie’s girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning). But as Ripley familiarizes himself with the character he is becoming, he grows more and more comfortable in the milieu of the ultra-wealthy, and Scott’s performance grows with it. It is as if one mask is falling as another slips into place. Occasionally, sparked by the vestigial rage of his previous poverty, the mask slips — as in a scene where Ripley faces off with a police inspector — and the tension is delicious. Many books are successfully adapted for the screen by altering the essence of the original to accommodate the different medium. In this case, Zaillian uses the unique properties of film to nail Highsmith’s original exactly. John Warner is the author of “Why They Can’t Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities.” Twitter @biblioracle BIBLIORACLE Netflix’s ‘Ripley’ does justice to Patricia Highsmith’s book Andrew Scott stars as Tom Ripley in “Ripley.” NETFLIX Get a reading from the Biblioracle Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@ gmail.com. Book recommendations from the Biblioracle John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read. 1. “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell” by Robert Dugoni 2. “The Storm We Made” by Vanessa Chan 3. “An American Dreamer: Life in a Divided Country” by David Finkel 4. “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan 5. “The Little Liar” by Mitch Albom — Tricia K., Oak Lawn I think Tricia will be well-served by Gail Honeyman’s “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.” 1. “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race” by Walter Isaacson 2. “Killing Crazy Horse” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 3. “Holmes, Marple, and Poe” by James Patterson 4. “Total Control” by David Baldacci 5. “Suspect” by Scott Turow — Mike P., DeKalb I think Mike will enjoy the long and involving journey through Larry McMurtry’s western epic, “Lonesome Dove.” 1. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver 2. “When She Was Good” by Philip Roth 3. “The Stories of John Cheever” by John Cheever 4. “Solo Faces” by James Salter 5. “The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray — Sean M., Chicago Sean’s list is a job for Walker Percy’s indelible novel of the search for meaning, “The Moviegoer.” All times Central. Start times can vary based on cable/satellite provider. Confirm times on your on-screen guide. NASCAR Cup Series: Würth 400 FS1,1p.m. Live Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Kyle Larson and other top NASCAR Cup Series drivers do 400 laps around Dover Motor Speedway’s “Monster Mile.” Collector’s Call MeTV, 5:30 p.m. You might be hard-pressed to find anyone who loves pizza more than Telina Cuppari of Kenilworth, New Jersey — not necessarily eating it but collecting items related to pizza. In this episode, “Meet Telina Cuppari — Pizza,” the Guinness World Record holder shows off some of her most offbeat items, like her pizza swag chain, a pizza box from a cult-classic movie and even a pizza dress that was designed especially for her. Krapopolis FOX, 7:30 p.m. When Atlanteans approach Krapopolis, Shlub (voice of Matt Berry) reveals that Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell) is really the king of Atlantis in the new episode “Prince Hippo.” Tracker CBS, 8 p.m. In the new episode “Into the Wild,” Colter (Justin Hartley) journeys into the wilderness of Idaho to help track down the owner of an aerial outfitting company’s missing adult children who were last seen in a plane that took off during bad weather with a mysterious client onboard. How It Really Happened With Jesse L. Martin CNN, 8 p.m. Season Premiere Season 8 of this investigative docuseries hosted by actor Jesse L. Martin kicks off tonight with a two-hour special that revisits the sinking of the Titanic and also takes a look at the more recent underwater voyage to its ruins that cost additional human lives. The Great North FOX, 8 p.m. In the new episode “Any Court inaStorm Adventure,” the Tobin family members try to maintain their sanity when a blizzard keeps them snowed in. When Calls the Heart Hallmark Channel, 8 p.m. In the new episode “Along CameaSpider,” it’s Easter in Hope Valley, so Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) organizes an egg hunt with some help from Nathan (Kevin McGarry). The Mega-Brands That Built America History, 8 p.m. Season Premiere Peyton Manning joins this docuseries both onscreen and as an executive producer for its second season, which begins tonight with an episode that looks at the introduction of the first handheld portable telephone and the fierce battle that ensued among several international telecommunications companies to produce the most popular cellphone. Grimsburg FOX, 8:30 p.m. Marvin (voice of Jon Hamm) is at the judging table of the town’s talent show whenaserial killer targets the winner in the new episode “And the Winner Is? Murder!” Guilt PBS, 9 p.m. Season Premiere In the final season, the brothers are back together, but enemies old and new cause them to seek ever-more desperate solutions to their problems. Digging deep into their past, Max (Mark Bonnar) and Jake (Jamie Sives) hope to finally findafuture free of danger — and each other. How Disney Built America History, 9 p.m. New Series The six-part series is a nostalgia-filled ride that paints a vivid picture of the world of Walt Disney and the history-making empire he and his brother Roy Disney built. Each hourlong episode focuses on a different example of game-changing brilliance in Disney’s history, including creating the world’s most recognizable characters, establishing the animated-features industry, revolutionizing the concept of merchandising, and using groundbreaking design and engineering to construct Disneyland, Disney World and beyond. From the editors of TV Weekly and tvinsider.com SUNDAY April 28, 2024 Love at First Lie (2023, Suspense) Lexie Stevenson, Greg Kriek Lifetime,5 p.m. Recipe for Danger (2019, Suspense) Bree Williamson, Sarah Lind LMN, 5 p.m. Branching Out (2024, Romance) Sarah Drew, Juan Pablo Di Pace Hallmark, 6 p.m. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022, Family) James Marsden, Jim Carrey NICK, 6 p.m. The Longest Yard (2005, Comedy) Adam Sandler, Chris Rock CW, 6 p.m. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971, Children) Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson E!,6p.m. A League of Their Own (1992, Comedy-drama) Tom Hanks, Geena Davis Sundance, 7 p.m. The Replacement Daughter (2024, Suspense) Stacy Haiduk, Emily Miceli Lifetime, 7 p.m. Bad News Bears (2005, Comedy) Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear CMT, 8 p.m. The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost (2023, Mystery) Jodie Sweetin, Stephen Huszar Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 8 p.m. The Blessing Bracelet (2023, Drama) Amanda Schull, Carlo Marks Hallmark, 9 p.m. The Truman Show (1998, Comedy-drama) Jim Carrey, Laura Linney CMT, 10:30 p.m. MOVIES YOU’LL LOVE ‘The Truman Show’ PARAMOUNT PICTURES What to watch FREJA, THE HISTORY CHANNEL ‘The Mega-Brands That Built America’ Pat and Mike (1952) TCM, 1:15 p.m. Screenwriting couple Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who had received an Oscar nomination for writing the 1949 Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn romantic comedy Adam’s Rib, also received a nod for this delightful 1952 Tracy/Hepburn outing. Also back from Adam’s Rib is director George Cukor, and all the returning parties combine to make magic once again with this story about a phenomenal athlete (HepCATCH A CLASSIC MGM burn) who loses her confidence whenever her overbearing fiance (William Ching) is around. Tracy plays a shady sports agent who tries to keep the couple apart so she can succeed, but he ends up developing feelings for her. Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 7
By Bob Gendron For the Chicago Tribune LAS VEGAS — “Let the music do the talking,” sang Phish vocalist-guitarist Trey Anastasio at the outset of the band’s concert Saturday at the Sphere, the new venue that surrounds the audience with a wraparound LED screen. Normally, hearing that advice from a singer who seemingly never tires of the stage would pass without a hint of irony. However, given Phish was not even one minute into the third of its sold-out four-night stand at the $2.3 billion dome — expressly devised to push sensory boundaries to previously uncharted limits — one couldn’t help wonder how seriously the group would take its own instruction. Turns out Anastasio and company still place their hallmark interplay above everything. At once playful and serious, Phish’s brilliantly unpredictable music led and complemented a nonstop parade of dizzying graphics, abstract patterns, distant universes and panoramic projections made possible by the Sphere, where the band took over from an opening residency by U2. The optical extravaganza erupted on nearly four acres worth of 16k LED screen wrapped behind, above and around the members’ positions on a minimalist oval stage. Among the generated scenery that dropped the crowd into manipulated environments: Soap bubbles that grew in size, headed for the audience and acted as if they might swallow anyone in their path (“Tube”). A hilly meadow with trees and blowing grasses, which illuminated with alternating bright and pastel colors according to the band’s pace (“Pillow Jets”). A calming perch atop a forested peak shrouded in fog (“Mountains in the Mist”). During “Tweezer Reprise,” cars tumbled across an empty sky, teasing chaos as they poured down like hail. Throughout “Taste,” layers of metal rings, stacked weddingcake-style, rotated to reveal iconography and illustrations from an archival Phish CD series. Amid “Sigma Oasis,” plush clouds resembling gigantic mushrooms bloomed as others transformed into the shapes of birds and turtles. (Though some anticipated the numerical date of Saturday’s event would prompt the band to commemorate 420, marijuana’s unofficial holiday went unacknowledged — not surprising since the group thinks big and beyond trite concepts.) Just the second act to use the Sphere as a boundless sandbox, Phish took a decidedly different approach than U2. In christening the facility last fall and winter, the Irish group opted for extraordinary displays that challenged conceptions of space and suspended disbelief, as well as literal and metaphorical visuals that delivered potent environmental and sociopolitical messages. U2 also stuck with a pre-scripted program at every performance. Phish pursued improvisational tactics that reflected the emblematic fluidity of its concerts. Less interested in direct interpretation, the band orchestrated the optical spectacles to respond in real time to the music. The daring strategy permitted Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon and keyboardist Page McConnell to stay clear of prescribed routes and fenced-in passages. In short, the production allowed Phish to do what it does best: surrender to the flow and live in the moment. Phish affirmed its commitment to adventure and exploration by spending almost 40 minutes sussing out the first three songs of the multi-set performance. With its start anchored by freewheeling renditions of two older favorites stemming from 1990 (“Tube” and “Stash”), the ensemble flashed a blend of dexterity, patience and surprise that continues to attract hordes of followers more than four decades after its formation in Burlington, Vermont. Mirroring previous stands at Madison Square Garden, Phish avoided song repeats and scored each concert with different visuals. Preparation for the run began in July 2023 when creative director Abigail Rosen Holmes started on ideas proposed by the group. While she collaborated with Montreal-based Moment Factory — a multimedia studio specializing in immersive environments — on video presentation and show design, Phish audio engineer Garry Brown oversaw the deployment of the venue’s 167,000-strong loudspeaker system. Fans unable to trek to the desert got the chance to livestream each performance on the group’s website. Others put their faith in the Phish community. On Saturday, dozens of followers milled around outside the venue holding up an index finger hoping for a “miracle” — an extra ticket, often gifted for free. Some fans already had tickets to one or several of the other shows. Other diehards, including Jessica Ganjon, arrived without knowing their fate. She flew in from Denver without guaranteed admission to any show in the limited run. Indeed, given Phish’s proclivity for risk-taking performances and audiophile sonics, the brevity of its Sphere engagement seemed bizarre. By comparison, U2 delivered 40 concerts over the course of several months. Dead & Company will present 24 shows beginning in May. In July, Phish will release its 16th studio album and commence on a 26-date tour. The jaunt swings through Alpine Valley in Wisconsin for a trio of shows late in the month before routing through Noblesville, Indiana, and Grand Rapids, Michigan — each less than a three-hour drive from Chicago. Anastasio arrives earlier. He and his solo ensemble hit the Salt Shed on May 9. It’s conceivable the 59-year-old still might be smiling from the Vegas rush. As Phish’s de facto leader, Anastasio couldn’t disguise his enthusiasm on Saturday. The bespectacled road warrior hopped in place before a single note struck. Near midnight, as Phish completed the marathon 185-minute show, Anastasio still looked as if he could coax another symphony’s worth of articulate tones, free-form melodies and knife-edged solos from his guitar. Phish’s license to walk the proverbial tightrope — and tendency to nestle into the thickets of on-the-fly arrangements — can prove overbearing for listeners who prefer concise hooks or conventional structures. To the Phish faithful, the group’s deep-dive excursions and without-a-net acrobatics explain why seeing the band in person is without parallel. That, and the thrilling light displays that designer Chris Kuroda orchestrates to respond to Phish’s whims. The Sphere’s voluminous canvas and technological capacity helped explode those elements to exponential proportions — particularly since Phish stretched its collective legs on a majority of the material. Pulling from a grabbag of rock, fusion, boogie and electric jazz, the quartet guided airy escapades filled with bounding tempos, gliding riffs, blissful vibes and subtle yet sudden shifts. Largely steeped in fusion and funk, songs opened up to elongated jams that encouraged loose-limbed dancing, closed-eyes meditation and mouth-agape awe. Phish conveyed a wide range of emotional states — heroic, optimistic, dramatic, relaxed, anxious, giddy — without uttering a word. When Anastasio stepped to the microphone to sing, or teamed with Gordon or McConnell on a vocal, the phrases were usually brief, choral exclamations or onomatopoeic. Drifting and expansive, songs’ architecture remained tethered to rhythmic foundations courtesy of Fishman’s steady drum beats and Gordon’s flexible bass lines. They provided a true compass on numerous occasions, most notably during an epic 20-plus-minute reading of “Fuego,” whose complex sprawl threatened to float away into the ether. Here and elsewhere, Phish benefited from selective use of the Sphere’s spatial sonic capabilities. Without warning, the band isolated a particular instrument in a specific area, panned percussive sounds or added psychedelic accents to the mix. The results created 360-degree sonic vistas that enveloped the mind and body. Low-end frequencies, too, possessed elevated degrees of definition, clarity, depth and decay. Along with Phish’s adaptive visuals and probing tunes, the aural wizardry contributed to an immersive experience that triggered the imagination, entertained fantasy and incited waves of recurring joy. Consciously or not, Anastasio summed up the future-is-now realities and dynamic sensations in “Golden Age,” singing: “The age of miracles, the age of sound / Well, there’s a Golden Age, comin’ round.” Enjoy it if and while you can. Bob Gendron is a freelance critic. SET LIST FROM THE SPHERE IN LAS VEGAS APRIL 20 Set I: “Set Your Soul Free”; “Tube”; “Stash”; “Pillow Jets”; “Steam”; “Mountains in the Mist”; “Taste”; “46 Days” Set II: “Sigma Oasis”; “Fuego”; “Golden Age”; “Twist”; “I Am Hydrogen”; “Chalkdust Torture”; “Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” Encore: “A Life Beyond the Dream”; “Tweezer Reprise” REVIEW Phish adds something new — improvisation ‘Let the music do the talking’ during run at Sphere in Las Vegas Trey Anastasio and the band Phish perform as part of a four-concert series at the Sphere in Las Vegas,. RICH FURY Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish. ALIVE COVERAGE Phish perform as part of a four-concert series at the Sphere. ALIVE COVERAGE 8 Chicago Tribune | Section 4 | Sunday, April 28, 2024
For girls trips, Charleston is now a mainstay. The South Carolina port city has Instagram-worthy streets, dining destinations, historic tours, beaches and a sense of camaraderie TRAVEL Bring your besties Pest control specialist Janelle Iaccino uses her knowledge to educate the next generation of scientists — especially girls — about bugs, rats and other creepy crawlies LIFE Chicago’s Bug Girl E. JASON WAMBSGANS/CHICAGO TRIBUNE ROBERT NICKELSBERG/GETTY DREAMSTIME LIFE Death is certain, but funeral pricing isn’t Loved ones making arrangements often find a murky process LIFE ‘I feel the pull of biology’ DNA test reveals a journalist was conceived via a sperm donor; his mom had no idea LIFE TRAVEL Style | Relationships | Home + W/S Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 1 F R GAMES PUZZLES & PlayJumble.com SOLITAIRE STORY MAHJONG STORY BUBBLE SHOOTER PRO DAILY DAILY SUDOKU COOKIE CRUSH
Dear Amy: My friend “Tina” and I have been friends since college and are now in our 50s. When we met, we were members of a campus religious organization, but as the years passed, we both drifted away from ourreligious affiliations. I now would call myself agnostic. Recently, Tina had a difficult breakup with a significant other. Since the split she has returned to religion and now mentions it often, which makes me somewhat uncomfortable, as it seems she may be trying to get me back in the fold. Over Easter, she went to church and decided that she wanted to be baptized. She scheduled it at a friend’s church three hours away. She said she would like for me to go, but I explained that I would not be able to attend due to the short notice. She was forced to cancel due to a family emergency, but then told me that she would reschedule her baptism so that I could plan on attending. The problem is, I don’t have any desire to go. While I don’t begrudge her any comfort her faith is bringing her, I am not interested and don’t want to feel pressured to participate. How do I back out gracefully without hurting her feelings? — Agnostic Dear Agnostic: I believe that in this context, honesty is not only called for, but it is also the most graceful way to handle this. You need to state a version of the following: “I’m very happy for you to have renewed your faith, but over the years we’ve known each other, I’ve made my own choice about religion and don’t participate. I won’t be at your baptism ceremony, but I hope it is a joyous event for you, and I wish you all the very best as you move forward in your faith.” You can’t really control your friend’s response to this, but while she has the right to affirm her faith, you also have the right to affirm your own stand on religion. Neither of you should proselytize, and you should determine to carry on in an attitude of mutual respect. Dear Amy: Many years ago, at the time of my mother’s passing, she left a will stating that my brother and I were to share equally in an amount of money that she left in some bonds that she had previously purchased. My mother discussed this with me before she died. Since she made my brother the executor of her estate, he was able to sell the bonds without my knowing until after Mom’s death. Subsequently, he advised me that there was no money for me — he cashed in the bonds and kept all of the money. My brother died last year. I didn’t want to bring up the aforementioned situation at that time, due to my sister-in-law’s health and her intense grief. But now that it’s almost a full year since he passed, I’d like to know: Would it be morally/ethically correct if I ask her for the money that my brother “stole” from me? I know she most likely didn’t know anything about the fact that he did this. It upsets me to know that he didn’t honor our mother’s final wishes. I do need the money. I’d like your input as to whether it would be right for me to pursue this. — A Wronged Sister Dear Sister: You had many years to confront your brother and pursue him legally for the money you believe he stole from you, but you didn’t do that. You also don’t mention seeing any will or documentation proving your case. Now that your brother has died, you would like to confront his completely ignorant and innocent widow in order to pressure her to give you this money. My opinion is that pursuing this now is both unethical and unkind. Dear Amy: I’m responding to “Concerned Grandparent,” who watched their grandchild while their son and daughterin-law worked. Grandparent wanted to allow their granddaughter to take a morning nap, even though her parents were against it. I think you may have erred on this one. The parents don’t want their daughter sleeping in the morning. That should be it. It’s their child, and they should be the deciding factor in what is best for their child. — Respectfully Disagree Dear Disagree: I believe that keeping a tired 15-month-old awake doesn’t seem best for the child. Copyright 2024 by Amy Dickinson Distributed by Tribune Content Agency Agnostic, faithful pal must respect each other ASK AMY By Amy Dickinson [emailprotected] Twitter@askingamy 2 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S To place your announcement, visit: https://placeanad.chicagotribune.com/whos-who in Local Business Who’sWHO An esteemed Chicago Tribune opportunity for business leaders, honorees and newsmakers to be featured every Sunday in the Business Section. FEATURE INCLUDES: ■ Guaranteed placement on Sunday + e-newspaper edition ■ 1/12 page including headline, photo and company logo $ 250
By Nedra Rhone Atlanta Journal-Constitution There’s a new scam that has been sweeping the nation. Crooks search funeral notices to identify people who have recently lost a loved one. After waiting enough time for funeral arrangements to be made, these unscrupulous folks call family or friends pretending to be the funeral home, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Then, the scammers ask for more money and threaten to cancel the funeral if it isn’t sent immediately. That’s lowdown. But I fully expect criminals to commit criminal acts. I don’t necessarily expect funeral providers to blatantly prey on their grieving customers. Last year, the FTC brought its first complaint in almost a decade against a cremation-service provider. The agency accused the company of misrepresenting itself as a local business in various states. The company, Heritage Cremation Provider, would then contract with third-party service providers that were sometimes located hours away, the FTC says. Customers complained about being forced to travel long distances to pick up their loved ones’ remains. The company also routinely charged more than the prices it posted and didn’t provide tallies of the total cost, according to the complaint. If families balked at paying these previously undisclosed higher prices, the company threatened to withhold their loved one’s remains, the agency said. Holding a deceased loved one hostage? What in the name of the Funeral Rule is going on? Yes, there is a Funeral Rule, a 40-year-old FTC regulation that requires funeral homes to disclose prices and other information to their customers. But it was last updated in 1994, and a lot has changed. Many consumers look for pricing and other information online, though most funeral homes don’t list prices online. When they do, it’s couched in such confusing language that consumers don’t know what they are reading anyway. That could change soon. These considerations and more are being reviewed by the FTC as it seeks to update the Funeral Rule. The Funeral Rule, as it stands, requires that prices be given upfront to consumers, whether they are calling a funeral home or visiting in person. It also requires that all costs should be itemized. And the rule prohibits unfair practices, such as charging undisclosed embalming fees, or forcing a consumer to purchase a good or service in order to receive another good or service. The FTC recently conducted an undercover phone sweep of 250 funeral providers around the country and found 39 to be in violation of the Funeral Rule. Most of the providers either refused to answer the FTC’s questions about pricing by phone or provided inconsistent pricing for the same services during two different phone calls. The companies received warning letters from the FTC. I reached out to the two providers in Georgia, one in Hapeville and the other in Cedartown, to follow up. A person at the Hapeville company declined to speak and hung up the phone. A person who answered my call at the provider in Cedartown confirmed a warning letter had arrived but said the owner was on vacation and unreachable. It has been almost four years since my dad died. I remember searching on my computer for funeral homes. My sister and I settled on two or three, but we couldn’t get pricing online or over the phone. I remember that we ended up making appointments to visit at least two funeral homes and cemeteries. I recall sitting in an office numbly looking at images and price sheets, viewing caskets and plots, deciding on markers, and trying desperately to stay focused on what my father would have wanted. It would have been much easier to process everything from the comfort of home rather than listening as sales staff presented a blur of services, products and packages at different price points in terminology we didn’t always understand. The proposed updates to the Funeral Rule may have made this experience more tolerable. If funeral arrangements haven’t been made in advance — and only 17% of Americans have pre-planned arrangements — loved ones must make fast decisions that can have far-reaching financial implications. The last thing they should have to do is deal with shady providers. I’m sure the bulk of funeral providers are honest and seek to help individuals at a difficult time in their lives. Here’s how they can do that: Be transparent and consistent about prices; provide that information in a way that is convenient for families, whether that’s online, by phone or in person; and be clear about the process and next steps. I hope the Funeral Rule will get the update it needs. Death, as we know, is certain. But understanding the costs associated with burying our loved ones shouldn’t be so taxing. Death is certain, but funeral pricing isn’t If funeral arrangements haven’t been made in advance, loved ones must make fast decisions that can have far-reaching financial implications. DREAMSTIME Loved ones making arrangements often find murky process W/S Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 3 Quality Products, Quality People, Quality Service. 2010-2023 SPECIALIZING IN WOOD AND VINYL WINDOWS & DOORS. WHAT’S YOUR STYLE? For more than 65 years, we have provided quality replacement windows and doors in Chicago, and many other surrounding areas. We have remained a leading home contractor by consistently providing superior quality products and professional installation services. Visit evergreenwindow.com for a virtual tour of our beautiful showroom. Custom Fit / Expert Installation We Carry the Best Brand Names in the Industry Visit Our Beautiful Showroom Financing Available to Qualified Customers Free Consultation and in-Home Estimates! 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LIFE By Darcel Rockett Chicago Tribune When you think of the acronym STEM, you likely know it stands for science, technology, engineering and math. But does it make you think about bugs, rodentia and taxidermy? Janelle Iaccino thinks it should. Iaccino is marketing director of Rose Pest Solutions, a structural pest control company that ensures nature and the environment stay outside of homes and businesses. The family owned, Northfield-based business has been in operation for hundreds of years and has 13 locations in Illinois and Indiana. As a spokeswoman for the company in Chicago, Iaccino leads a team of women called The Bug Girls, who use their expertise and knowledge about bugs and rats to inform and educate the next generation of researchers and scientists. “I’m usually the Bug Girl, but I also am called the Rat Lady from time to time, which is not as endearing,” said Iaccino, a 19-year employee of the company. “I’ve really made it a mission to bring people into that world.” On a recent March afternoon, she entered the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum carrying a bag full of Madagascar hissing co*ckroaches — complete with a pineapple-shaped house, like in the show “Spongebob Squarepants” — along with giant African millipedes that are like worms with shells, and a plush cicada to show how it emerges colorful after it sheds its brown shell. She tells people about an impending bedbug infestation that is looming as more people are now traveling and about a new species of mosquito that bites in the daytime. She informs folks about what subterranean termites look like and how they should not be confused with maggots. The native Chicagoan also wears a colorful pair of cicada earrings. Iaccino is also an artist who paints; a musician who plays multiple instruments, including jazz flute; a producer; a proprietor of her own apothecary shop; and a nature lover. Her blog encourages folks to “embrace your weird.” As a 2023 National Pest Management Association award winner for Women in Pest Management and a 2018 Drummer Silty Clay Loam Education winner, an award given to stellar volunteers at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Iaccino does that daily. When she’s not helping inform people about public health and pests, she’s on a mission to encourage young girls to pursue careers in science. “I’m bopping all over Chicagoland, up to Milwaukee, down through Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky,” she said. “I work a lot with the Girl Scouts. I’ve developed some STEM programs with them over the last couple of years. I was a former Girl Scout and as a kid, what opened my mind to things that I didn’t learn in school, that my parents didn’t teach me? It was Scouts. That’s how I became so interested in visual arts. We went on hikes, nature adventures all the time.” Iaccino coordinates at least two Spark Day programs with Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana per year, events that offer the scouts hands-on activities and exposure to industry professionals to gain skills and knowledge about career spaces they didn’t know about. The next one will be held June 8. She said female professionals will be on hand from different avenues of environmental science, such as wildlife rehabilitators, entomologists, public health experts and park rangers. “We set up stations and the girls can be hands-on, face-to-face with these female leaders, which is so empowering for them to see,” Iaccino said. “In these industries, it’s so male dominant. That was what forced me to start reaching out to every Girl Scout troop leader I knew. It’s so rewarding when 50 girls come away from that experience, and they remember so many details. … You’re excited to see what they’ll do when they’re older.” Iaccino’s varied interests also include taxidermy. Because she works with a team that controls the rat population, she often brings the deceased specimens to the museum to mount. “I’ve prepared 53 specimens for the collection over the years,” Iaccino said. “The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is one of my personal favorites. I learned taxidermy here. It was cool to be able to do something on a different level here — not as a spectator but as an active participant in preserving natural history. It’s scientific, sure, but it’s also an art form.” Iaccino works closely with Emily Graslie, an artist, science communicator and writer, video host, educational media producer, and creator behind the YouTube channel “The Brain Scoop,” which shares behindthe-scenes work of natural history museums with the world through informative videos. “I’ve been making YouTube educational videos for 10 years,” Graslie said. “I woke up one day and was like, I want to know more about urban wildlife and what is the nastiest urban wildlife you can find? It’s rats! “One thing that I like to try and do is help normalize things,” Graslie said. “Help other people look around at the world around us and realize that nature’s everywhere, not just in parks. Then I came to Peggy Notebaert and was like: Do you guys do anything with this? And they all said ‘Rats? You need to speak with Janelle.’ ” When Iaccino started volunteering at the nature museum, administration told her that because they had lost a lot of their specimens to the Chicago fire, they didn’t have urban rats from Chicago. So she stepped in to help rebuild the collection. Iaccino calls it a perfect match. “I just started collecting them and bringing them in and it wasn’t just me working on them, it was other volunteers too. And now we’ve got the collection going,” she said. With over 600,000 subscribers, Graslie is all about education and curiosity. While she was capturing footage of Iaccino at the museum, Graslie shared stories about the extinct passenger pigeon species in Illinois, how people who study neotropical fish do biological inventories of wildlife for damming projects, and how house sparrows had adapted to less sound pollution from cars during the pandemic lockdown. All of the above was documented over the years. “I’m just dipping my toe into the rat business in Chicago, but I wouldn’t be here without Janelle, she’s helping me spread the appreciation for these that I wouldn’t have had without knowing her,” Graslie said. Iaccino said you’d be surprised how many “weirdos” out there now want to know about this kind of information. “I used to post something to Instagram and people would be like, ‘Why are you posting this? No one wants to see this.’ I was like, ‘Hit the unfollow button dude; this is me,’ ” she said. “But now everyone’s like, ‘How come you haven’t posted pics of this lately?’ There’s a lot of people who want to know now.” She said taxidermy can get pretty gnarly. But for her, it’s all about teaching people enough that they’re not afraid. She believes education is the best defense against any kind of fear and that’s what she’s doing when she goes to schools and museums. “I’m opening their minds because it’s a fear factor,” she said. “Everybody’s got their own threshold for what they are afraid of, and what they’ll tolerate. And being in the pest control industry, we know that better than anybody.” Knowing that Chicago has been the rattiest city in the nation for the past nine years, she’s happy that the city’s budget for rodent abatement is robust. It’s an ongoing battle because rodents are resilient. She always tells Chicago residents to be diligent about reporting seeing rats around the city by calling 311. Iaccino says with the number of alleys in the area, there are a lot more places for them to hide and a lot more dumpsters to go through. Iaccino’s career path started when she received a tarantula as a gift from a friend when she was in high school. Named Xanadu, after Olivia Newton-John’s 1980 film, the pet Iaccino owned for six years helped her face her fears. “I was able to be not afraid to hold it and inch my way toward that,” she recalled. “And it’s just been a lifestyle now for many years. I’m the cool auntie who always has a trunk full of weird things.” She landed her Rose Pest Solutions job in a similar way. What was supposed to be a part-time summer job answering phones and doing dispatch for the service team led to her wearing all the hats in the location. Six months later, she was in the field going on ride-alongs and learning every aspect of the job so that she could talk to customers better. “That was the name of the game, listening to people’s stories. I’m curious by nature, so it helped me understand how people feel about different things. And then I could research how to comfort them and find the solution,” she said. “Preventive tips are all we focus on because we want people to start thinking proactively. Methods that were working two or three years ago are not working anymore,” she said. “This is why we need more entomology professionals, why we need more data research people. Being in the pest control business … it’s all about balance. Humans and nature will always have to be in harmony somehow. It’s about knowing exactly that right balance so you’re not disturbing the ecosystem. … We prescribe the right treatment so that we’re not harming the earth or people, but taking care of the problem.” HAVE YOU MET CHICAGO’S BUG GIRL? Janelle Iaccino wants to enlighten the city on the greatness of the creepy, crawly things A Norway rat taxidermized by Iaccino. Janelle Iaccino, aka The Bug Girl, taxidermies a Norway rat at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on March 26. E. JASON WAMBSGANS/CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTOS 4 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S
By Zoe Greenberg The Philadelphia Inquirer Matt Katz wanted to know where his Jewish ancestors once lived in Eastern Europe, so in 2016 he spit into a plastic vial and mailed in his DNA test. He expected to be 100% Ashkenazi Jewish. Instead, he learned that half his DNA came from Ireland. He was shocked, but perhaps more jarring, so was his mother. She confirmed through her own test that she was indeed his biological mother and also 100% Ashkenazi Jewish. The mystery transferred to his father. Katz, now 45, already had a complicated relationship with fathers. The man he knew as his birth father largely disappeared from his life when he was 8 and his mother remarried a man named Richard Katz. As a child, Matt legally changed his last name to match. Richard legally adopted him; he was the one Matt called Dad, the one who played catch with him and taught him to ride a bike. Now a DNA test suggested that Katz’s longestranged father wasn’t even related to him. So who was his biological father? And how did his mother not know? “My identity is all scrambled,” Katz said recently. Katz’s surprise DNA results launched a five-year investigation into who his father was and the ethically vexed history of donor insemination, a twisting, satisfying story he tells in a new eight-part podcast called Inconceivable Truth. (His Google Doc for the project was titled “Daddy Issues.”) Katz, a longtime Inquirer reporter and now a radio journalist at WNYC, recorded most of it from his and his wife’s bedroom closet, speaking into a microphone amidst the soundproofing presence of folded sweaters. In this age of directto-consumer DNA tests, many, many people have discovered startling truths about how their families were made. Recent studies put the rates of so-called misattributed paternity — the situation Katz found himself in — between 1% and 4% of all births, according to an analysis by the New Yorker. Darker secrets have come out, too. Psychiatrists used to think that incest occurred among one in a million people. DNA testing now suggests the real number of people born to parents who are first-degree relatives (a brother and a sister; a parent and a child) may be closer to one in 7,000, according to unpublished research by British geneticist Jim Wilson recently reported in the Atlantic. We live in what is perhaps a singular era for these genetic revelations: Older generations never imagined the kind of DNA technology that has developed, and younger generations will always operate with it in mind. The trend now is greater transparency and more access to information, spurred in part by donor-conceived activists. But in this moment, there are still secrets to uncover and new family trees to create. Katz’s quest was unusually complicated because his DNA revealed no grandparents, cousins, aunts, or uncles. With help from a volunteer on Facebook and another DNA test, Katz discovered that he had two half-sisters. One of them told Katz what she had only recently learned herself: She was conceived by a sperm donor. In a recorded conversation with his mother after speaking with his halfsister, Katz asked whether his mother ever had fertility help. Yes, she said. “Is it possible there was a sperm donor?” he asked. “Not to my knowledge,” she said. Seeking to process the new information, Katz set out to understand how babies such as him came to exist. Before assisted reproductive technology such as IVF took off, straight couples who struggled to conceive sometimes ended up using donor insemination. At the time, (mostly male) doctors believed it was in the best interest of everyone involved if the entire process was hidden, sometimes even from those intimately involved in it. The first successful artificial insemination occurred in Philadelphia in 1884 and paved the way for generations of secrecy and deception, Katz found. A doctor realized that his female patient was married to a man with a low sperm count, so he inseminated the woman with a rubber syringe filled with the sem*n of a hand-selected medical student. The woman was never told. Even decades later, secrecy remained the gold standard. Katz found a memo written by Alan Guttmacher, a well-known gynecologist and president of Planned Parenthood, from the 1940s laying out the ethical rules for donor insemination, “Forget signed papers,” Guttmacher wrote. “They simply act as a permanent reminder of something which should be forgotten as quickly and completely as possible.” By the 1970s, when Katz was conceived, ob/ gyns sometimes chose sperm donors from among their medical residents or other available men, never creating or deliberately discarding any records. They strived to match a donor’s physical look with the father who would raise a child, so the child might never guess. They also routinely mixed donor sperm with a husband’s ineffective sperm, sometimes telling couples the donor’s sperm would “boost” the husband’s sperm. Often, doctors would tell couples to go home and have sex after the insemination, encouraging the illusion that the husband was genetically related to a child actually conceived through donor insemination. Once Katz understood that he had been donor-conceived, he set out to find the Irish doctor he believed would be his father. Inconceivable Truth, which is releasing one episode a week, follows that quest. “Presence is really what makes a dad,” Katz said. “But I feel the pull of the biology.” ‘I feel the pull of biology’ DNA test reveals journalist conceived by sperm donor; his mom had no idea Matt Katz is host of the new podcast “Inconceivable Truth.” His surprise DNA results launched a five-year investigation into who his father was and the ethically vexed history of donor insemination. ALEJANDRO A. 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By Scott Ervin Tribune News Service Dear Kid Whisperer: I teach in a K-5 room for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). I love my job, and I run a tight ship. My students know that while they are in my room, their negative behaviors won’t work: They only get what they want with positive behaviors. However, a few of my students know that there are some behaviors that I am not allowed to handle in my classroom. I am required to refer physical violence and threats to my principal, and these behaviors lead to detentions and suspensions. I don’t want this to happen, but I don’t know what I can do about it. Dear Reader: The moment that I read the words “I run a tight ship” in the context of working with kids with emotional and behavioral disorders, I thought “Yes!” ... and I knew exactly what the rest of your question was. Yes, savvy kids who are diagnosed with EBDs who don’t get attention, control and avoidance within the classroom will find ways to get out of the classroom, where their negative behaviors will get them what they want. Yes, the savviest kids are skilled in “ejector seat” behaviors: They know that you are forced by school rules to remove them from the classroom for the behaviors that you mentioned, so they use those behaviors. The answer is not to walk on eggshells with these kids and avoid holding them accountable so that you don’t make them mad. Believe it or not, some people tell teachers to stop having high expectations or to stop having any expectations with these kids. This is a great way to utterly destroy kids while simultaneously making your job impossible. It’s wrong and it is cruel. Instead, the answer is to correctly prevent, mitigate and respond as a scorekeeper in the present and as a calm, loving teacher in the future. You have to create a brand-new environment for these kids — one where their positive behaviors get them significantly more attention than their negative behaviors. The most effective way to do this is to use Strategic Noticing. The kids with the EBD label tend to be addicted to the attention and thereby control that they get through their negative behaviors. Strategic Noticing allows us to flip that script by giving kids attention when they use positive behaviors. Kid Whisperer: I noticed Kid No. 1 is working hard. I noticed Kid No. 2 is working collaboratively with Kid No. 3. Kid No. 3: So!?! Kid Whisperer: I just noticed. I noticed Kid No. 4 is being patient and waiting his turn. When behaviors are slightly off track but don’t need a Learning Opportunity (consequence), we can gently guide kids back on track without making demands, which make things worse. Kid is in an escalating argument with another student. Kid Whisperer to Kid: What’s next? Kid Whisperer hovers next to Kid, thereby causing the intensity of the argument to dissipate slightly. Kid Whisperer looks confusedly at Kid, as if to say, “You are awesome, that behavior is less than awesome, so what are you doing? I’m confused.” Kid stops arguing and Kid Whisperer continues to teach. These Gentle Guidance Interventions make behaviors and your work experience better, while not holding kids accountable is utterly cruel and destructive to your students and to yourself. You have to be able to be the calm scorekeeper when the student leaves the room, and then, during noninstructional time, teach them the positive behaviors that they struggle with as a calm teacher, not as an angry tyrant. I’ll show you how to do that next week. Behavioral consultant Scott Ervin, M.Ed, is a parent and former teacher and principal. He is the author of “The Classroom Behavior Manual: How to Build Relationships, Share Control, and Teach Positive Behaviors.” THE KID WHISPERER How to prevent, tone down serious negative behaviors DREAMSTIME Dear Miss Manners: I was a single dad for eight years, raising my daughter. We had, and maintain, an awesome father-daughter relationship. We have done road trips and vacations, and I coached her soccer team for seven years. A few years ago, she joined a gym with her mom. She is no longer doing soccer, theater or any other activities — just working out six days a week with her “gym friends,” who happen to be young adults. She is an excellent student and can balance school and the gym. I support her activities, but I’m only allowed to drop her off and pick her up. My daughter has expressed to me many times that she likes keeping her worlds apart, so I have done this for several years out of respect for her wishes. My daughter’s 16th birthday is coming up, and her mom is throwing her a surprise party the day before her actual birthday and inviting only her gym friends. My ex-wife and I have an excellent communication relationship about our only child, and she told me about the surprise party, but said she thinks it would be weird for our daughter and her gym friends if I showed up. I would have some serious FOMO if I didn’t attend. Yes, I know it’s not about me, but I’m her dad and nothing is more important than an event for my daughter. My new wife also feels I should respect my daughter’s consistent wishes and not attend this one function. We do have other amazingly fun activities planned for her birthday, but my daughter requested no parties with the school friends that I know. I am super torn. I want to respect her independence and maturity, and yet can’t help feeling like I’m missing out on a meaningful event in her life. Gentle reader: And yet, it could easily turn into the negative connotation of “meaningful” if you disregard your daughter’s wishes. You have cited such respect as evidence of the success of your fatherdaughter relationship. As you have a good relationship with your ex-wife, perhaps you can ask her if you may provide the cake or another surprise. This will let your daughter know you are thinking of her, but also give you points for respecting her request. Miss Manners suggests that you further resist sending your daughter a message that you will be nearby if she changes her mind. Dear Miss Manners: I belong to a club that has an indoor and outdoor pool, so I enjoy swimming yearround. An older gentleman also swims there, always at the same time I do. Because of work and other responsibilities, I am limited to swimming at that time of day. This gentleman either has some sort of medical issue or is taking a medication that makes him cough — loudly and constantly. His laps are punctuated at each end of the pool by relentless, loud, dry coughing. It’s not the kind that doubles him over or stops him from swimming; it’s a regular, rapid, rhythmic, dry, barking cough that goes on for about 10 seconds, every minute or so, for about 45 minutes. It is incredibly annoying! Is there any polite way to approach him and ask if he’s been seen by a doctor for this? I know my motives are pure. Gentle reader: Tell your second paragraph that. Miss Manners understands that both the irritation and your concern for this gentleman can coexist. She recommends, however, that you hide the former better, by simply asking if he is all right. That he should do something about it has likely been considered — and your saying so might betray the annoyance that you are trying so hard to conceal. Dear Miss Manners: I picked up grocery items for a dear friend who was busy setting up a small dinner party. She said she would send me the money on an app. I sent her a screenshot of the receipt, took the items to her and even helped her finish setting up. She repeated that she’d send me the funds. It’s been five days and she’s not mentioned it again. I want to be gentle with my request, and don’t want to sound desperate, but I need that $80 back. Gentle reader: “Did the app work? I don’t think I received anything from you yet. Please let me know if you need me to resend the receipt.” To send a question to the Miss Manners team of Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, go to missmanners. com or write them c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. Dad not invited to daughter’s surprise party feels left out Judith Martin Miss Manners 6 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S Get more out of your subscription by setting up your digital account • More articles than what’s in print • Breaking News alerts with the mobile app • Unlimited access to our website • eNewspaper, a digital replica of the paper emailed daily It’s easy to start your online access! Visit: go-activate.com VALUED SUBSCRI BE R Advertise – – it’s that easy! Layout Review & Submit Schedule ✔ ✔ ✔ Visit: placeanad.tribpub.com Self-Service Print and Online Display and Classified Ads See Your Options: Selling an item Hiring an employee Celebrating a loved one Announcing an event ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
W/S Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 7 OUR EXPERT TEAMS ARE TAKING ON THE TOUGHEST CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH SUBURBS. No matter what you’re facing, world-class care is closer than ever. Anchored by the only hospital on the National Honor Roll for 12 straight years by U.S. News & World Report, * Northwestern Medicine in Palos, Mokena and Orland Park offers expert, compassionate care. With access to Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s best-in-Illinois specialties, and the Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute, you’re always close to groundbreaking treatments, clinical trials and expert teams. Because what makes us better, makes you better. ® Learn more at nm.org/Palos ACCESS TO THE MOST TOP-RANKED SPECIALTIES IN ILLINOIS* IS IN PALOS, MOKENA AND ORLAND PARK. *Northwestern Memorial Hospital as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 2023-2024.
TRAVEL GeoQuiz What is the longest river in Europe? Find out on Page 9 By Alison Bowen For the Chicago Tribune Walking out of the Charleston airport, we trailed behind a group of women, including one with a gold crown and birthday sash. Clearly this was a girls trip. And we, too, were there for such a trip, three friends celebrating the five-year anniversary of our friendship and hoping for good food and some sunshine. Turns out, we found just the place. We chose South Carolina because we kept hearing about the historic port city of Charleston. A friend’s friend had gone there; a neighbor had just returned from a girls trip, drinking frozen rosé and riding a mechanical bull at El Jefe restaurant. The city won out over mainstays like Miami and Nashville because it had sun — a must for leaving Chicago in March — and none of us had been there. Plus, so many friends couldn’t be wrong, right? Charleston’s Instagramworthy streets have long made it a wedding destination and now, too, a women’s trip destination. Gorgeous scenery abounds, from the brightly colored houses on Rainbow Row to the poolside scene at Little Palm restaurant and the fragrant, blooming wisteria trees. The city’s tourism bureau actively advertises the Girlfriend Getaway for “4 days to sip, shop & selfie in Charleston,” including candle shops, spa offerings and Parisian co*cktails. The hospitality director of the downtown Guesthouse Charleston, where we stayed, said it often hosts such getaways. “Women travel groups have definitely increased in the last few years,” Kerri Beasley said. “Ages range from early 20s to 70s-plus.” We arrived on a sunny day in Charleston, escaping cold, driving rain in Chicago. We lucked out with the weather, which featured 70-degree days. But the bright greenery flowing throughout the city and bold colors of the homes would have brightened our winter getaway regardless of weather. Every street seemed to have some hidden courtyard or bright blooms. Our goal was simple: wine with dinner, interruption-free sleep and some unfettered time to really talk and hang out together. Charleston itself skews more toward women; the city is 52.5% female, according to census data. And as we kept asking various people we encountered, more than one told us it’s hard to date in Charleston because the apps seem to have way more single men than women. On our first morning, we took a walking excursion offered by Two Sisters Tours, run by two sisters whose family roots in Charleston date to 1793. We heard about Charleston’s history while strolling through streets and hidden nooks we’d never have known were pathways. We learned about everything from how the palm trees are actually palmettos to noting bolts used to repair earthquake damage to buildings. Charleston is known for its cobblestone streets, many of which we meandered through on the walking tour. We also saw horse-drawn carriages ferrying people on their own historical tours. The city also has many historic houses; we visited during the annual Charleston Festival, which provided access to some private homes and gardens. We stopped outside the Nathaniel Russell House Museum and toured its garden. If we had more time, we would’ve gone inside to see exhibits about the lives of both the elite and the “enslaved men and women whose forced labor made possible their lavish lifestyles,” according to the website of the Historic Charleston Foundation. On King Street, the Preservation Society of Charleston has a neat shop with local art and items like feathered jewelry and thoughtful, local children’s books. Proceeds help preserve the city’s character, quality of life and diverse neighborhoods. Walking along King Street, dotted with shops and restaurants, we saw so many groups of three or four women clearly vacationing together it felt comical at first, but eventually we began to feel a sense of camaraderie. One morning we waved to a group of four ladies on a porch on the same property where we were staying, all with coffees and gold under-eye masks. The female-heavy vibe felt empowering, not overpowering. We saw bachelorette parties. We saw midlife women celebrating birthdays. We met a waitress whose mom had just come through on her own trip. Charleston’s restaurants are well known for awardwinning cuisine, and we found our experience no different. At Vern’s, often seen on must-visit lists, we ordered multiple dishes, including a delicious pork loin and appreciated the selection of natural wines. Our waiter was patient with our slow decisions, and it was a cozy space to watch the sky darken outside. We also enjoyed a laidback vibe downtown at Indaco, where the spicy soppressata pizza had a surprising amount of flavor and the pastas included raviolini with peas and prosciutto. Wherever you dine, make reservations early as places book up. Even a 7:15 p.m. reservation couldn’t be moved to 8, as many spaces are small and can’t easily shift table plans. At Sorelle, which opened about a year ago, we found an inviting space with small, elegant touches throughout, including marble imported from Italy. The airy space serves espresso in the morning, inventive co*cktails in the afternoon and dinner as well. We went twice. Over at Millers All Day, we watched women filter in with matching hats or shirts for the popular brunch, boasting a hot honey chicken sandwich and the King Street bowl, a flavorful mix of eggs, grits, sausage, pimento cheese, home fries and sausage gravy. Server Noelle Verrusio said girls trips are ubiquitous. At a previous place where she worked, which was coated in pink décor, she said, “It was like 15, 15, 15 (in each party) and we were on a wait all the time.” If she saw a bachelor’s party, she said laughing, “I would’ve been like, ‘Are you guys, OK?’ ” When we ventured to Folly Beach, seeing men playing Frisbee in the sand brought to mind the feeling of leaving Barbieland and entering Kendom. Throughout our trip, we encountered Southern hospitality, with people always eager to give us recommendations for activities. Downtown shop Candlefish offers BYOB candle-making classes at $60; or you can try your hand as a mixologist at Sweet Grass Vodka, with classes at $85 per person. Be sure to visit the water. We tried a sunset cruise on the Schooner Pride — cruise options include dolphin spotting — which departed from a harbor by the aquarium and featured a gorgeous sunset; passengers could even help put up the sail. But do note, however, that alcohol is not allowed on public beaches, and police do issue tickets. As we were leaving Charleston, we were already planning to perhaps bring back the families and stay on the water, driving into downtown for those delicious meals. On the flight home, I sat near yet another woman returning from a girls trip. So did my friend, in a separate row. Although we never did try the mechanical bull at El Jefe, it’s awaiting our next girls trip. We’ll prepare to wait in line. Alison Bowen is a freelancer. Your friends aren’t wrong: For girls trips, Charleston now is a mainstay King Street in historic downtown Charleston features shops and restaurants. JEFFREY GREENBERG/GETTY A guide lead tourists through streets on a horse-drawn buggy in Charleston, South Carolina. ROBERT NICKELSBERG/GETTY 2019 The Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston. ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY The interior of Sorelle restaurant. PETER FRANK EDWARDS 8 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S
By Jae-Ha Kim Tribune Content Agency Six years after she won critical acclaim for her debut novel “If You Leave Me Now,” Crystal Hana Kim has published her second book, “The Stone Home.” The novel centers on a homeless mother and daughter who, in the 1980s, are sent to live in a South Korean reformatory center designed to break down their will to survive. While the book is dark and conveys desperation, it highlights hope and the power of resilience. During her book tour, Kim spoke about her travels and how they are a part of her writing process. “Some of my best writing comes to me when I’m away from my usual surroundings,” she said. “I live in Brooklyn (in New York City). I love my home and the busy atmosphere of my neighborhood, but the distractions of daily life can make writing harder. While writing ‘The Stone Home,’ I went to two artist residencies in Wyoming. The isolation helped me untangle questions I had about my characters and the story. I took long walks in the snow and wrote for hours in my cabin. It was a dreamy experience!” This interview with Kim has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Can you share some examples of how your travels impacted your work? A: I took a trip to Korea in 2018 to see my family and conduct some research. I could not have written “The Stone Home” without all that I learned and experienced on that trip. Being immersed in the language and culture and conducting an in-person interview with one of the survivors of a real-life reformatory institution helped deepen my understanding of this story. Q: What is a trip that stands out for you? A: In May 2019, my husband and I traveled around Chile for a month. It was an incredible life-changing experience. We started by hiking in the Torres del Paine National Park, which is in the southern tip of the country. The mountains, lakes and glaciers were indescribably stunning. We then flew to Valparaiso, a beautiful port city full of street art and rolling hills. I stuffed myself with empanadas there. We ended our trip in San Pedro de Atacama, which is known as the driest desert in the world. … I felt like I was on Mars. Q: Do you work while you’re on vacation? A: I’m always listening and looking and absorbing the details around me. If I overhear an interesting conversation or see a particularly striking image, I like to write it down in my notebook. You never know where that inspiration will take you. Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels? A: In real life, I’m a planner. I have a to-do list every day. But when I travel, I like to keep an open mind. I won’t schedule too much. I’d rather see where the day takes me. I also think it’s important to travel with people who have similar styles and interests. Also, seek out the local, hole-inthe-wall dining spots. Q: Do you speak any foreign languages? A: Korean was actually my first language. My parents immigrated to the States in the 1980s and when they had me, they taught me their mother tongue first. I only learned English once I started school. I know a little bit of French from my high school days, but I’m very rusty. Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before? A: The Azores. Thailand. Greece. India. Bangkok. Antarctica. Somewhere where I could hike and see the Northern Lights. … Anywhere with a beach appeals to me. Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items? A: Eye mask for sleep, headphones for music, a notebook and pen for writing down my thoughts and my phone for capturing photos, of course. I don’t drink coffee. I find that sometimes it’s hard to get a good cup of tea, so I always bring my own sachets too. For more from the reporter, visit www.jaehakim.com. CELEBRITY TRAVEL Author’s creativity fueled by new stuff “The Stone Home” author Crystal Hana Kim says Greece and India are on her expansive travel bucket list. NINA SUBIN By Christopher Elliott | King Features Syndicate I recently reserved and paid for a room at the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse at Custom House, Boston, through Booking.com. I prepaid $1,191 for my accommodations. I received a confirmation that I had booked a room at the property and that I had paid for it. However, when we checked out, my husband paid for the room again — not realizing that I had already paid for the hotel through Booking.com. We received an email invoice from the hotel and left the Marriott property, not realizing we had paid for our stay twice. I contacted Booking.com straight away, but I don’t have a record of our interaction. Booking.com deleted all the messages relating to my inquiry. Marriott has referred the matter to Booking.com, and Booking.com will not help me. Is there anything you can do? — Valeska Wehr, Bute, Australia TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER I accidentally paid twice for my hotel. Can I get a refund? A: Booking.com should have charged you once, and Marriott shouldn’t have charged you at all. I know — thank you, Captain Obvious. But it merits repeating. I’ve reviewed your paperwork, and you should have only received one charge. Marriott believed that you hadn’t prepaid your room. You might have been able to clear up the matter while you were at the property, but it looks like your husband didn’t get the memo either. (Next time, please tell him that you’ve prepaid.) Still, this should have been easy to clear up. But as I reviewed the correspondence between you, Booking.com and Marriott, I saw more issues. Booking.com referred you to Marriott, even though this was a Booking. com reservation. Marriott sent you what appears to be a form letter, saying that you can’t get loyalty points for your stay in Boston. Wow, talk about confusion. After receiving these disappointing responses, there’s only one thing left to do. You have to appeal your case to a higher level. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the executives at Marriott and at Booking.com on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. This is not the first time Booking.com has billed one of its customers twice. I had a similar case a few months ago, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. You have to watch your final bill carefully. When you give a hotel your credit card for “incidental” expenses, make sure that it doesn’t charge you for the room again. It’s happened to me, and let me tell you, it is no fun to resolve it. But there is a resolution to your case. You reached out to my advocacy team, and I contacted Booking.com. It asked for proof of payment, which you furnished. Within a week, you had a full refund of the amount that you’d overpaid. Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers resolve their problems. Contact him at elliott.org/help or chris@ elliott.org. While southern England gets most of the glory — and the tourists — the country’s far northeastern corner harbors some of England’s best historical sights. Hadrian’s Wall serves as a reminder that this was once an important Roman colony, while nearby Holy Island is where Christianity gained its first toehold in Britain. And both can be reached from the town of Durham, home to England’s greatest Norman church. For years I’ve visited Hadrian’s Wall, the remains of the fortification the Romans built nearly 2,000 years ago to mark the northern end of their empire, where Britannia stopped and the barbarian land that would someday be Scotland began. But until a more recent visit, I had never ventured beyond the National Trust properties, the museums and the various car-park viewpoints. This time, I spent a sunny late afternoon actually hiking the wall. As I scrambled along these Roman ruins, I took a moment to simply absorb the setting. All alone with the sound of the wind, I surveyed the vast expanses and craggy hills that seem to rip across the island, like a snapshot that has frozen some sort of geological violence in mid-action. Hadrian’s Wall stretches 73 miles across the isle. Once a towering 15-foottall fortification, that once mighty wall is now only about three feet wide and three to six feet high. But it’s still one of England’s most thought-provoking sights. The best way to experience the wall is to focus on a six-mile stretch right in the middle, featuring three must-see sights: Housesteads Roman Fort, which shows you where the Romans lived; Vindolanda’s museum, which shows you how they lived; and the Roman Army Museum, which explains the empire-wide military organization that brought them here. This stretch of the wall also boasts some of the most enjoyable hiking. A three-mile ridge walk alongside the wall from Steel Rigg to Sycamore Gap (named for the muchloved tree that stood there until vandals cut it down in 2023) to Housesteads Roman Fort gives you a perfect taste of scenery and history. If you prefer history with monks mixed in, visit Holy Island. This small dot off the coast of northern England, near the Scottish border, was the home and original burial ground of St. Cuthbert, a great missionary monk and leader of the early Christian church in northern England. Known 1,200 years ago as Lindisfarne, this island was the source of the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels, illustrated by monks with some of the finest art from Europe’s early Middle Ages. By the ninth century, Viking raids forced the monks to take shelter in Durham, but they returned centuries later to reestablish a church on this holy site. Today, Holy Island makes a pleasant stop for modern-day pilgrims, who cross a causeway to a quiet town with B&Bs, cafés, and 150 residents. The island’s highlights include a priory, with an evocative field of ruined church walls and a tiny museum, a former coast guard lookout tower offering expansive views, and a dramatically situated castle that’s more enticing from afar than it is inside. South of Hadrian’s Wall and Holy Island and three hours north of London by train, the town of Durham sits snug below its castle and famous church. A sharp bend in the River Wear protected medieval Durham, providing a moat on three sides. Today, the river ties Durham into a tidy little bundle and seems to protect it only from the modern world. For nearly a thousand years, pilgrims have come to Durham to see its cathedral. It was built around the year 1100 to house the much venerated bones of St. Cuthbert. The architecture is unusually harmonious because it’s all one style. The cathedral was built in just 40 years and survives essentially unaltered. In the rest of Europe, this kind of architecture would be called “Romanesque.” But in England, it’s called “Norman,” named after the invaders who brought the style across the English Channel from France. The cathedral’s round arches and zigzag carved decorations are textbook Norman. For me, a Durham highlight is attending an evensong. I always arrive early and ask to be seated in the choir, the cozy, central church-within-achurch. In this vast, dark, and chilly building, the choir served as an intimate space where medieval monks could worship multiple times a day. While the cathedral is the city’s top draw, it’s not the only one. Strolling the town and popping into the indoor market just off the main square is a delight. And, as home to England’s third-oldest university, the city is lively with tattooed students in search of a good karaoke bar. From a magnificent cathedral to striking ruins, England’s northernmost fringes provide the best opportunity to delve into the country’s fascinating past while enjoying its friendly present. Rick Steves (www. ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This column revisits some of Rick’s favorite places over the past two decades. You can email Rick at rick@ ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook. Glimpse ancient past in northeast England Step nearly 2,000 years into the past by hiking Hadrian’s Wall, which stretches 73 miles, in northeast England. ADDIE MANNAN Rick Steves GEOQUIZ ANSWER Volga. It flows in a southerly direction through western Russia for about 2,300 miles and empties into the Caspian Sea. W/S Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 9
10 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S ALZ.org/TimeToTalk If you’re noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer’s. Talk about visiting a doctor together. “Early detection gave us more time to find information and support together.”
By Jocelyn Noveck Associated Press Fashion, most would surely agree, is meant to be seen. Not heard, and certainly not smelled. But Andrew Bolton, the curatorial mastermind behind the blockbuster fashion exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, begs to differ. His newest show, to be launched by the starry Met Gala in May, seeks to provide a multi-sensory experience, engaging not just the eyes but the nose, the ears — and even the fingertips, a traditional no-no in a museum. Open to the public beginning May 10, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” features 250 items that are being revived from years of slumber in the institute’s vast archive, with some in such a delicate state of demise that they can’t be draped on a mannequin or shown upright. These garments will lie in glass coffins — yes, like Sleeping Beauty herself. As ever, celebrity guests at the May 6 gala will get the first look at the exhibit. With a dress code defined as “The Garden of Time,” one can expect lots of creative, garden-themed riffs. But will anyone go so far as to actually wear a living garden? As he began mounting the exhibit, Bolton shared that there’s just such a garment in the show, a coat that has been planted with oat, rye and wheatgrass. The garment, designed by Jonathan Anderson of the label Loewe (a sponsor of the show), is “growing” right now in a tent at the museum, with its own irrigation system. It will be displayed in all its green glory for the first week, after which it will be replaced with a version, also grown for the show, that has dried out. As the museum puts it, the coat “will grow and die over the course of the exhibition.” “Sleeping Beauties” will be organized around themes of earth, air and water — but also, Bolton says, around the various senses. The garden gallery where the coat will be displayed is one of four areas devoted to the sense of smell. This means viewers will be able to sample scents connected to various garments. But it doesn’t mean that a floral gown, for example, will be accompanied by a floral scent. The reality is much more complex. “What we’re really presenting is the olfactory history of the garment,” Bolton says. “And that’s the scent of the person who wore it, the natural body odors that they emitted, what they smoked, what they ate, where they lived.” For these galleries, the museum worked with Norwegian “smell artist” Sissel Tolaas, who took 57 “molecular readings” of garments, all to create scents that will waft through the rooms. But garments also create sound. Especially if the garment is embroidered, as is one famous gown by the late Alexander McQueen, with dried and bleached razor clams. Because the original dress would be too fragile to now record the sounds it makes in movement, curators made a duplicate and then isolated and recorded the sound in an echo-free chamber at Binghamton University. And then there is touch. “It’s one of the difficulties of museums, that you can’t touch things,” the curator says. The exhibit aims to change that, too. An example: an embroidered 17th-century Jacobean bodice. No, you can’t handle such a fragile thing. But with the help of 3D scanning, curators have recreated the embroidery on wallpaper. “The whole room will be covered with this wallpaper,” Bolton says. “You can use your hands to feel the shapes and the complexity of the embroidery.” Even with the plain old sense of sight, the exhibit aims to enhance the viewing experience with accompanying animations featuring details of the garment one cannot see with the naked eye — rather like looking through a microscope. Bolton aiming for multi-sensory experience at latest Met exhibit Jonathan Anderson designed this coat encrusted with live grass. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Without makeup — eyeliner, eyeshadow and lipstick — I just don’t feel right. I look washed out and tired. I have a beauty regimen that is working for me and makes me feel better when facing my day. My question, actually two questions, has to do with color, namely the color of lipstick I wear and the color of shadow. Is there a rule that the lipstick has to match your clothes — specifically is it OK to wear pink (or orange) lipstick when wearing, say, a red blouse? And eyeshadow: What colors are considered most flattering? — Alixe J. Dear Alixe: I know what you mean about makeup. Just a little eyeliner and lipstick does wonders for the spirit. I’ve written before that in fashion there are no rules. But in makeup there are a couple strong guidelines: Your lipstick certainly doesn’t need to “match” your clothing, but you look better if it doesn’t clash (like red with pink or vice versa). When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with a beige-y neutral, for instance well-priced Maybelline’s number 660 “Touch of Spice” (drugstores, $5.99). Colorful or highly pigmented shadow is best saved for evening. And although powder blue shadow enjoyed a moment of high-fashion popularity, grays and browns are my usual go-tos. Don’t overdo the shadow and blend it in thoroughly for something that (for some of us) gives a more natural accent. As for liner, again a natural look in black, brown or gray is usually the best choice. Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Help! Covergirl Perfect Point Plus has discontinued their 215 Grey Khaki color. This works best with my light skin tone and hair color. Can you help suggest a brand with a similar color? — Katie C. Dear Katie: In researching your question, I found the closest matches to “grey khaki” when I typed in “olive brown eyeliner” and “olive grey eyeliner.” Check out these options: Palladio Retractable Waterproof eyeliner (olive, amazon. com, $8.09); NYX Epic Wear Liner Stick (All Time Olive, drugstores, amazon. com, $8.99); Maybelline TattooStudio Waterproof Mechanical Gel Eyeliner Pencil (smokey grey, drugstores, amazon.com, $6.79). When you find a product you love, buy several. The ones you rely on most often are discontinued. Sometimes you can find them on eBay but at inflated prices. Angelic readers 1 Sue D. writes: “To hopefully help Madeleine about her mascara clumping issue. On an episode of ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,’ I watched hair and skin care guru Jonathan Van Ness wipe the end of the mascara wand with a tissue before the application to remove excess. Absolutely no clumps … been doing it ever since.” Angelic readers 2 From Ms. Bindy B.: “The letters you print asking ‘Can I still wear’ something or other. I am a fairly chic (for a 93-year-old) woman with a substantial collection of items over 10 or 15 years old; items that still look good on me and therefore qualify as still wearable. … ‘Fashion’ be damned!” Reader rant “Tight Squeeze Jam” writes: “Please tell the reader who wrote you about the resurgence of pointy-toed shoes that you have to go up, possibly even a full size, to make pointy-toed shoes work. And if you have large, American feet, you may as well forget expensive designer shoes. They’re extremely narrow. Also, please beg shoemakers to not use that stupid vanity sizing. I’m a size 10, I’ve been a size 10 since I was 12. … I don’t want to buy size 10 online and have to go play games with returns for a larger size because of this stupid sizing game.” Send your questions, rants, tips, favorite finds — on style, shopping, makeup, fashion and beauty — to answerangelellen@gmail. com. Makeup has strong guidelines Just a little lipstick can do wonders for the spirit, but it’s best to not clash with your wardrobe. DREAMSTIME Ellen Warren Answer Angel W/S Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 11 Finish your high school diploma, for you and for them. Find free, flexible and supportive adult education centers near you at FinishYourDiploma.org. When graduate, graduates.
12 Chicago Tribune | Section 6 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 W/S Call for Your FREE Design Consultation (312) 736-0123 | shelfgenie.com *Limit one offer per household. Must purchase 5+ Classic/Designer Shelves. EXP 6/30/24. Independently owned and operated franchise. ©2023 ShelfGenie SPV LLC. All rights Reserved. 12 NO INTEREST NO PAYMENTS *On ApprovedCredit* MONTH Custom Pull-Out Shelves for your existing cabinets and pantry. 50% OFF INSTALL!*
REAL ESTATE By Bob Goldsborough For the Chicago Tribune Former Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Sharp and his wife, Abby, on April 1 sold a condominium in Lincoln Park in an off-market deal for $715,000. A mainstay of the Blackhawks’ three Stanley Cup titles between 2010 and 2015, Sharp, 42, was with the Blackhawks for 11 of his 15 seasons in the NHL. He retired in 2018, and after working for a time as a broadcaster and coach, he joined the Philadelphia Flyers’ front office last year. Sharp bought the condo for $645,000 in 2007 from the building’s developer. The condo is in a building that has 16 units. Because the unit sold off-market, details about it could not be determined. The Sharps hadn’t lived in the condo for many years and had been renting it out, according to real estate sources. In fact, the couple sold the condo to their tenant. The reason the Sharps had not lived in the condo for such a long time is that in 2012, they paid $2.95 million for a six-bedroom, 7,300-square-foot mansion in the Southport Corridor area of the Lakeview neighborhood. They sold that mansion in 2021 for $3.14 million. The Lincoln Park condo had a $15,438 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year. Sharp isn’t the only former Blackhawks great who now skates elsewhere but still owns property in the Chicago area. Former Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, who now skates for the Detroit Red Wings, owns no fewer than three Chicago-area residences — a downtown Chicago condo he bought for $2.06 million in 2008, a four-bedroom, 4,776-square-foot Near North Side condo that he bought in 2019 for $6.46 million and a mansion in Lake Forest that he purchased in 2022 for $5 million. Former Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams sells Lake Forest home for $2.7M: Former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams and his wife, Lisa, on April 12 sold their five-bedroom, 4,450-squarefoot house in Lake Forest for $2.75 million. Williams, 54, has coached defense for a variety of NFL teams. He joined the Bears in early 2022 from the Indianapolis Colts along with his boss with the Colts, Matt Eberflus, who was hired at that time to be Bears’ head coach. Williams mysteriously vanished partway through the 2023 Bears season, and he resigned Sept. 20, a week after taking a personal absence and missing a game. Williams’ ELITE STREET Ex-Hawk Sharp sells condo in Lincoln Park Former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams and his wife, Lisa, sold their 4,450-square-foot house in Lake Forest for $2.75 million. COOK COUNTY ASSESSOR Turn to Elite, Page 5 By Sam Lubell The New York Times Our homes are reflections of ourselves, right? So it makes sense that James Goldstein’s house, hovering over a canyon atop Beverly Hills, California, is one of the most strange, fascinating and perplexing architectural projects in the world. Goldstein, 84, a controversial figure who made his fortune investing in mobile home parks in California, may be familiar to you. He’s that leathery-skinned, frizzyhaired guy always sitting courtside at NBA games. He’s that guy who shows up at all the fashion shows in Paris and Milan with a couture-meets-cowboy look. And he’s that guy who owns the Sheats-Goldstein house, a stunning landmark by architect John Lautner that fuses prehistory and futurism, solidity and weightlessness, inside and outside — a house that has been a set piece for films, for the real estate reality show “Selling Sunset,” for countless music videos and for parties thrown by the likes of Rihanna and the Kardashians. “The word ‘subtle’ doesn’t exist for me,” Goldstein said. He’s sitting on the sprawling lower terrace of his home’s recently completed threelevel addition, which is a separate compound overlooking the towers of Century City and, beyond that, the glinting bend of the Pacific coast. He calls this undertaking the Goldstein Entertainment Complex, and it includes Goldstein’s office and a nightclub called Club James, with an infinity-edge tennis court as the roof. Goldstein and his team of architects, builders, engineers and landscape designers have been working on the Lautner house addition since 2003, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Goldstein’s property, which he has been tinkering with for more than 50 years. Goldstein bought the Sheats-Goldstein house (built in 1963 for Helen and Paul Sheats, an artist and a doctor, and their children) for $182,000 in 1972. Aghast at its cramped feel and banal plaster, stucco and Formica surfaces, he enlisted Lautner himself to make improvements. Over about 20 years, they removed cluttered divisions and installed frameless glass windows, concrete and wood ceilings, built-in leather-covered furniture and automated skylights. “The purpose of all of this was to make the inside feel like it was outside,” said Goldstein, who describes a collaborative working Rebel has found an architectural cause Like Goldstein, his renovation of house by Lautner complicated James Goldstein, from left, is seen March 7 with architects James Perry and Kristopher Conner at the Sheats-Goldstein House in Beverly Hills, California. JAKE MICHAELS/THE NEW YORK TIMES PHOTOS The pool, balcony and living room of the Sheats-Goldstein House. For half a century, Goldstein renovated a house by John Lautner. Turn to Goldstein, Page 5 Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 1 CHICAG O , I L CHICAG O , I L F L ORI D A | I L L INO I S | M I C H I G A N | U TA H | W I S C O NSIN 312.750.9333 WWW.DAWNMCKENNAGROUP.COM # 1 REAL ESTATE TEAM I N ILLINOIS # 4 REAL ESTATE TEAM I N THE NATION NAPLES, F L NAPLES, F L THE FUTURE O F REAL E S TAT E ©2024 Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.The Coldwell Banker System and Dawn McKenna Group fullysupport the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker Logo, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxurylogo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Source:#1 Team in the Midwest, Naples, Park City & #4 Large Team by Volume in the Countryranked by RealTrends, as advertised in The Wall StreetJournal 2023.#1 team in Hinsdale based on Midwest Real Estate Data closed sales 05/01/2003-09/15/2023. Not intended as a solicitation if your propertyis alreadylisted by another broker. NEW LISTING DESIGNED BY AMY STORM & CO.
By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin Tribune Content Agency Q: My mom’s home is in a trust. She passed away toward the end of last year. She lived in the home for over 20 years. Her trust lists her six grandchildren as the beneficiaries of the trust. We’ve found a buyer for the home who is paying cash. As a trustee, am I required to open a separate bank account for the proceeds to be placed in that account for distribution to the beneficiaries? A: We’re sorry for your loss. It was nice of your mom to leave the house to her grandchildren. Apparently, she left you — her child — in charge of the trust, with the funds going to support the grandkids. There are two separate concepts that we need to talk about to answer your question. The first issue relates to your mom’s debts and bills. When your mom died, her estate would have to settle any outstanding debts. Someone should have taken care of paying her final bills, funeral expenses, state and federal income taxes for the prior or current year, credit card bills, utility charges, etc. For simplicity’s sake, we assume that you took care of all of those bills. Or that you have money in another account to take care of any final bills and obligations your mom had or that her estate might have. If this is the case, once you sell the house, the money from the sale can go directly to the grandkids. You, as the trustee, can direct the settlement agent or closing attorney to pay the proceeds from the sale to the six grandchildren. It could be as simple as that. However, if you need some of the money from the sale to pay for the funeral expenses or other bills that might not have been paid or are coming due, you might need to set up a bank account for the trust. Once you have that account, you can pay your mom’s bills and other estate expenses from the bank account until everything is settled. At that point, you could pay the grandkids and close the bank account. Depending on your situation and circ*mstances, you might need to talk to an estate attorney to make sure you’re doing everything correctly. For example, if your mom’s estate was pretty simple — that is, she lived off her Social Security and some small other sums, she didn’t have debts, and you were able to verify that everything she owed was taken care of shortly after she died — any money that you have from the estate from that point forward could be paid to the beneficiaries or heirs under her will. The key is to make sure that all bills and expenses of your mom’s estate are paid in full. Once that’s done, you can then distribute cash to the beneficiaries. You wouldn’t want to distribute money to the grandchildren and then find out that the estate has a $5,000 bill to pay. We don’t have enough space to go through all of the issues a trustee or estate representative must go through after a loved one dies. But keep in mind that bills must get paid, and creditors and the Social Security Administration must get notified of the death (often, the funeral home may notify the SSA). In many instances, where the deceased had bank accounts, real estate assets or investment accounts, and it will take time to settle their affairs, you’ll need to apply for an Employer Identification Number for the estate. That’s a different number than your mom’s Social Security number. Once your mom died, her Social Security number should no longer be used. And any income earned from her investments between the date of her death and the date any of her assets are transferred to her grandkids (or others), the new EIN number is used with the Internal Revenue Service. So if you open a bank account for your mom’s estate or for the trust, you might need another new EIN to do that. You can’t use your mom’s Social Security number or the EIN for your mom’s estate for that purpose. All this can be complicated, which is why, depending on how sizable her assets and cash are, you might be better off hiring an estate attorney. Ilyce Glink is the CEO of Best Money Moves and Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate attorney. Contact them through the website ThinkGlink.com. REAL ESTATE MATTERS Trustee looks to distribute home-sale proceeds Before any beneficiaries are paid, the person in charge of the trust should make sure that all bills and expenses of the estate are paid in full. DREAMSTIME 2 Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 If you’re looking to whip up a delish dish, try The Daily Meal today. TheDailyMeal.com ROOMS FOR RENT $150 weekly/$600 monthly Acacia SRO Rooming House 723 West Grand Avenue Chicago, IL 60654 MEN ONLY. SENIOR DISCOUNTS. Call to inquire 312-421-4597 CHICAGO $600 60654 723 WEST GRAND AVE OTHER ROOMS FOR RENT Pristine Medical Office Suite Available Q3 2024. Space, currently occupied by Midwest Plastic Surgery Specialists, can be a turn-key opportunity for another plastic surgeon, or a variety of medical uses. $15/SF NNN Contact Mike Velasco of Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty at 847-409-0232 for more information and virtual showing (Matterport). ALGONQUIN 5,200± SF 60102 1474 MERCHANT DRIVE MEDICAL OFFICE COMMERCIAL FOR RENT NORTHWEST Search for your new Real Estate Property at classifieds.chicagotribune.com To place a real estate ad, visit chicagotribune.com/advertiser/realestate REALESTATE ARKETPLACE Renting or Selling Your Home? r Home? placeanad.chicagotribune reach your buy .com ers at The right place to advertise your Merchandise, Pets, Auto, Real Estate, Tag Sales & Flea Markets, Vacation Property, Wanted to Buy Items and more! placeanad.chicagotribune.com Your Goodwill® purchases fund job training and more in your community. Even those frames that show off your twin pugs. BRING HOME. SM
chicagotribune.com/homes Visit us online for exclusive Home of the Day photo galleries, plus views of other featured homes and real estate stories. Address: 1258 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago Price: $3,800,000 Listed: April 5, 2024 This three-bedroom, 5 ½-bathroom home in the Gold Coast has a Venetian-inspired façade and was redesigned in 2012. There are five stories, complete with a lobby-level apartment, a basem*nt and a rooftop deck. On the main level are three Gothic arched windows and a front balcony overlooking the lake, as well as a living room, dining room and the kitchen. On the next level is another kitchen, the family room and an en suite bedroom. The primary bedroom comprises its own level and has a marble bathroom, custom closets, office space and a private balcony. Take in panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline from the rooftop, and dine in a partial kitchen in an adjacent sunroom. This home is completed by an elevator, designer lighting, two laundry areas and a fenced patio. Listing agents: Jennifer Ames, 312-440-7525, and Wade Marshall, 773-450-1247, Engel & Völkers Chicago Some listing photos are “virtually staged,” meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishings or decorating operations. To feature your luxury listing of $1,000,000 or more in Chicago Tribune’s Dream Homes, send listing information and high-res photos to [emailprotected]. HOME OF THE WEEK Gold Coast 3-bedroom home with ornate facade: $3.8M By Lauren Phillips BHG.com We all want a clean home: Beyond the sanitary aspect, there’s something immensely soothing and satisfying about living in a tidy space, which is why we’re always researching how to clean better. Still, despite our best efforts, our homes will eventually get dirtier and in need of cleaning again, but there are also ways you can make cleaning easier and extend how much time passes before you need to get out your cleaning kit again. Believe it or not, there are things you or household members are probably doing that are sabotaging your cleaning efforts. By breaking these habits, you can help your home stay cleaner, even if you’re cleaning the same amount or less often. Read on for top tips from cleaning experts, plus a few of our own. Wearing outside shoes in the house “Taking just a few seconds to remove your shoes each time you come in from the outside will save you hours of vacuuming,” writes Mary Marlowe Leverette, cleaning expert at The Spruce, in her article “The Dirty Dozen,” as featured in Cleaning Made Easy. “Not to mention the bacteria and germs that will stay out of living areas. Make this habit simple for everyone by providing a bench or chair for easier shoe removal.” This simple at-the-door step will ensure that you’re not tracking outdoor grime indoors with every coming and going. Don’t be afraid to ask guests to remove their shoes before entering, either — chances are, they’d ask the same of you when you visit their home. Not closing the toilet lid before you flush That lid isn’t there just to keep you from dropping your toothbrush in the toilet: Research has found that flushing the toilet with the lid up can spread contaminated aerosol particles as far as 1.5 meters, effectively undoing any disinfecting or sanitizing you’ve done in your bathroom. To keep surfaces clean of the things you can’t see, close the lid before you flush — and encourage your household members to do the same. Cleaning with dirty tools “A dirty mop or sponge simply pushes around soil and bacteria,” Leverette writes in “Cleaning Made Easy.” “Take the time to thoroughly clean tools after every use by emptying completely or washing in hot water and adding a disinfectant. Periodically replace with new tools.” Additionally, grimy appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers and vacuums, won’t clean as effectively, leaving everything you clean them with a little dirtier than it could be. Keep all your tools clean and in good condition to make sure you’re getting the most out of your cleaning efforts. Neglecting kitchen towels Speaking of tools: Few cleaning items are as helpful or used as often as your trusty kitchen rag. Just make sure you’re cleaning that rag enough. The data shows that kitchen towels are easily contaminated, and even if you’re only using those towels to dry clean hands, you’re probably not tossing them in the wash enough and spreading bacteria and other filth to your clean hands and other surfaces every time you use the towel. Try to wash these towels more often, especially if you’re using them to clean up after cooking with meat or fish. Skimming the instructions Few things are more frustrating than when a cleaning spray or tool doesn’t work as expected — but sometimes, you can’t blame it all on the tool. “Maybe you didn’t read the directions,” Leverette writes. “Most cleaners don’t work instantly. Bottom line: Spend 30 seconds reading the directions to avoid 30 minutes of extra scrubbing.” Many of these instructions are necessary to use a product to its full potential, too, particularly if you’re sanitizing or disinfecting, so be sure to read those directions carefully and follow them exactly. Trusting everything you see online Viral cleaning videos may be entertaining, but they may not all give you the cleaning results you’re hoping for, and some may even lead to declines in the quality of your possessions (we’re looking at you, boiling wooden spoons). Take the tips you find online with a grain of salt. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you see something that would really help you out, test it carefully before going all-in. Letting cleaning jobs pile up “Most of us will find reasons to avoid a mess for as long as possible,” Leverette writes. “But if you and your family do a bit of cleaning each day, like load and empty the dishwasher, complete a load of laundry and vacuum one or two rooms, then cleaning the entire house will not be so overwhelming.” Make a short daily to-do list or assign daily tasks to everyone in your household: With a few minutes each day, you’ll save yourself from hours of cleaning during the weekend. These bad habits make your house dirtier Cleaning experts offer advice to ease tidying up process Your cleaning efforts can be sabotaged if you or your household members have bad habits like wearing outside shoes in the house. GETTY JENNIFER AMES PHOTOS Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 3
4 Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 Call for Your FREE Design Consultation (312) 736-0123 | shelfgenie.com *Limit one offer per household. Must purchase 5+ Classic/Designer Shelves. EXP 6/30/24. Independently owned and operated franchise. ©2023 ShelfGenie SPV LLC. All rights Reserved. 12 NO INTEREST NO PAYMENTS *On ApprovedCredit* MONTH Custom Pull-Out Shelves for your existing cabinets and pantry. 50% OFF INSTALL!*
resignation statement included a comment that Williams was taking a step back to care for his health and his family. However, multiple sources told the Tribune’s Bears reporters at that time was that his exit was conduct-related. Through an opaque land trust, Williams and his wife paid $2.24 million in August 2022 for the Lake Forest house. Built in 1999 and completely remodeled in 2023, the house has five bathrooms, four fireplaces, new recessed lighting, a two-story great room with a beamed ceiling, a library with Alder wood paneling and built-in shelves, freshly refinished hardwood floors and a kitchen with a Thermador dishwasher, a Wolf 48-inch stove/oven, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a KitchenAid micro/convection oven. Other features include a butler’s pantry with a Sub-Zero mini-fridge, a primary bedroom suite with an upgraded bathroom, and an English basem*nt with new carpeting, a wet bar, a 500-bottle wine cellar, a recreation/media area, an exercise room and an office area. The house also has two new furnaces and newly repainted staircase spindles. Outside on the 1.38-acre property are a heated swimming pool and a barbecue area with a pergola, a granite bar, an outdoor fireplace and a Sonos sound system. The Williamses first listed the home on Feb. 1 for $2.79 million. They found a buyer exactly one month later, and the deal closed April 12. Listing agent Kati Spaniak did not respond to a request for comment. The house had a $28,935 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year. Williams’ home sale followed by a little more than a week the $1.6 million sale of a six-bedroom, 5,610-square-foot house in Waukegan by ousted former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and his wife, Tina, who sold their home April 4. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. Elite from Page 1 relationship with Lautner until the architect’s death, at 83, in 1994. Goldstein would come up with crazy ideas, and Lautner would come up with beautiful, brave ways to pull them off. Goldstein didn’t break step after Lautner’s death, creating, with a team led by Lautner’s associate Duncan Nicholson, a mesmerizing James Turrell Skyspace just down the hill in 2004. “As the project progressed, I realized I loved the process,” Goldstein said. “I could already see the impact of what was happening, and before it was even finished, I started thinking about other things to do.” He has stuck almost exclusively with the team members who created the original house, or with those who trained under them, remaining intimately involved with every aspect. Nagelmann and the home’s builder, Harry Ernst, have been working with Goldstein for more than 30 years. “It’s about freedom,” architect Kristopher Conner said. He and partner James Perry have been leading the design of the entertainment complex since Nicholson suddenly died of cancer in 2015 (Conner and Perry had both been associates in Nicholson’s firm). Goldstein, Conner said, “is not afraid at all.” That fearlessness is evident in the tennis court jutting off the side of a cliff, in the cantilevered balconies, eaves and furniture — and in the huge, angled frameless glass windows that seem to pull you into the Los Angeles basin below. Perhaps more than an obsession, Goldstein’s ever-evolving home is his legacy. In 2016, he agreed to bequeath it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art after his death, along with a sizable fund for maintenance, hoping to inspire a future generation of architects. “I want it to be open to the public as much as possible so they can learn,” Goldstein said, “whether it’s architectural students or people who know nothing about architecture.” He opens the home for tours and events regularly, a stark contrast to the proprietors of many of the city’s finest residences. “We’re still curious to see how the transition will be implemented, but knowing it will be protected and knowing there is an endowment for its upkeep, those are critical questions for any historic residence,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the city’s architectural and cultural resources. But, as with every aspect of Goldstein, it’s complicated. For every remarkable trait, it seems, there is a challenging one. He has no dimmer switch. He can be impulsive and harsh, according to some who have worked for him. “Jim has not been an easy client,” Conner admitted. He admires Goldstein’s vision but chafes when he sometimes takes credit for what Conner says are his firm’s designs — or when he changes course deep into projects. Then there’s the way he’s paid for it all: Goldstein’s is a well-documented path of buying rent-controlled mobile (also known as manufactured) home parks throughout Southern California. He then either tries to raise rents beyond proscribed amounts or convert them to market-rate or other more profitable development models. Goldstein sues cities that have tried to stop him, said Sunny Soltani, a partner at the California law firm Aleshire & Wynder and the attorney for the city of Carson. Soltani has battled Goldstein in court for more than a decade, both in Carson and in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. “Once he files a lawsuit, he makes it so expensive that local agencies just settle with him,” Soltani said. Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes called Goldstein “a terrorizer of a landlord,” referring to legal disputes over his Colony Cove Mobile Estates and Carson Harbor Village. “I own luxurious properties that are under the constraint of rent control, with rents going at probably 50% of rent levels,” Goldstein countered, “and I have many residents who can afford to pay market level that are riding the crest of rent control.” Goldstein is aware of his detractors. But he’s much more concerned with building his house, and with his mystique. He said he has spent tens of millions of dollars on his compound during 50 years of continual construction, and that real estate experts have told him it would be worth more than $100 million. (Brian Linder, a real estate broker at Compass, estimated the value of the complex at $30 million, while James A. Ebert, of Ebert Appraisal Services, said it could be worth “in the $40s.”) “Homes are inextricably linked to personalities,” said Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy. “He is a larger-than-life individual, and his presence is very much felt when you experience the house.” But what if preserving a house for posterity means glorifying a legacy that might be … complicated? Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will inherit the house, said he “didn’t know much about James’ business,” adding, “We’re all navigating history of all kinds, including those of patrons.” “We always have to do this delicate dance,” Fine said. “We’re advocates for the built environment. You may not always like the people associated with it.” Goldstein from Page 1 Left: A parlor in the Sheats-Goldstein House. RIght: The exterior of the house, shown in the Benedict Canyon neighborhood of Beverly Hills. JAKE MICHAELS/THE NEW YORK TIMES PHOTOS Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 5 ISTHE HARDEST PART OF YOUR JOB FILLING JOBS? To place your announcement, visit: https://placeanad.chicagotribune.com/whos-who in Local Business Who’sWHO An esteemed Chicago Tribune opportunity for business leaders, honorees and newsmakers to be featured every Sunday in the Business Section. FEATURE INCLUDES: ■ Guaranteed placement on Sunday + e-newspaper edition ■ 1/12 page including headline, photo and company logo $ 250
6 Chicago Tribune | Section 7 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 IMAGINE MORE TIME FOR YOU Your new home at The Homestead at Morton Grove means having more time to enjoy life. Our rental community offers the best in maintenance-free living — including secured building, scheduled transportation, social activities, private patios and terraces, indoor parking, and so much more. CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE ATOUR AT 847-581-1800 6400 Lincoln Avenue | Morton Grove a rental community for those 55+ www.homesteadatmortongrove.com We chose Villa St. Benedict because... 1920 Maple Ave. Lisle, IL | Connect with us today. Call (630) 852-0345 or visit www.villastben.org Independent Living, Assisted Living & Memory Care SENIOR LIVING IN PALOS PARK SO MANY CHOICES, 10300 Village Circle Drive • Palos Park, IL 60464 708-361-3683 •PeaceVillage.org Live Larger. At Peace Village Senior Living, you make choices to meet your unique preferences. From restaurant-style dining or enjoying nature to social activities and excursions, enjoy life doing the things you choose. Come experience this vibrant community offering luxury living in a beautiful, serene setting in nearby Palos Park. Visit PeaceVillage.org or call 708-361-3683 to set up a tour and see for yourself today. TRY TO PICK JUST ONE Community Name Address Phone Number STUDIO 1 BEDROOM 2 BEDROOMS TYPE* GARAGEPKG ON SITESALON MAID SERVICE EXERCISERM WASH/DRY PUBLICTRANS CATS DOGS *Type:SA Senior Apartments • RC Retirement Communities • AA Active Adults • AL Assisted Living • MC Memory Care • LFPLifePlan Community • EFC Entrance Fee Community The Homestead at Morton Grove MortonGrove, IL60053 847-581-1800 SA ● ● ● ● ●●● Villa St.Benedict 1920 MapleAve.,Lisle, IL60532 630-852-0345 RC,AA,AL, EFC ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Peace Village 10300 Village Circle Drive 708-361-3683 RC,AL,MC, LFP, EFC ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Get more out of your subscription by setting up your digital account • More articles than what’s in print • Breaking News alerts with the mobile app • Unlimited access to our website • eNewspaper, a digital replica of the paper emailed daily It’s easy to start your online access! Visit: go-activate.com VALUED SUBSCRIBER F R GAMES PUZZLES & PlayJumble.com SOLITAIRE STORY MAHJONG STORY BUBBLE SHOOTER PRO DAILY DAILY SUDOKU COOKIE CRUSH SeniorLivingSolutions
COMICS CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/COMICS Check out more than 75 comic strips, from “Barney Google and Snuffy Smith” to “Zippy the Pinhead.” CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/GAMES Crossword, Sudoku and 30 more games and puzzles. Baby Blues By Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott Zits By Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman Grand Avenue By Mike Thompson Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 1
4/28 DOWN ANSWERS: Most of which are Across By Fred PiscoP | edited By stanley newman (stanxwords.com) Across 1 Fail to win 5 Roast beef au __ 8 __ cost (gratis) 12 Link to the Web 17 It borders Pakistan 18 Second section, perhaps 20 Outfox 21 Puccini production 22 Go head over heels 25 Formal agreements 26 Flight-board posting 27 Till section 28 Arboreal marsupial 29 Bit of sleet 30 Returns to custody 32 Leaves rudely 33 21-Across performers 34 “I’ll second that!” 35 New York college 36 Armed conflict 37 Puck target 40 Betray apprehension 44 Mascara mishap 46 Metallic strand 49 Much of Chile 50 Adversities 51 Fling with force 52 Brainstorm 53 Go public with 54 V8 veggie 55 Comic Dangerfield 56 Lawn-patching stuff 57 Lob’s path 58 Gull cousin 59 TV sound 60 “Asabonus …” 62 Prepare to deal 65 Big hair 68 Navigational aid 70 Painter Magritte 71 Old Testament vessel 72 Wetland 73 Cuisine with crawfish 75 Roll-call response 76 General __’s chicken 77 Diner serving 78 Plug-in hybrids, for instance 79 __ voce (orally) 80 Subject matter 82 Paris-area hub 83 What many an ID has 84 Attach papers without staples 87 Slip up 88 Move to and __ 89 Thoroughfare 90 Unpleasant odors 93 Tech support callers 96 German mathematician 98 Thrills, informally 100Exemplify 102 Start getting paid to play 103 A handful of 104EPA-banned pesticide 105 Dining surface 106 Be forgotten 109 __ wrench (workshop device) 110 Cardinal point 111 __-fatty acids 112 Mambo king Puente 113 Yorkshire city 114 Looks closely at 115 Chest muscles 116 #2 exec Down 1 Career soldier 2 Delivered a keynote 3 Spicy sandwich sausage 4 Blow up: Abbr. 5 Green stones 6 WWW addresses 7 Farm pen 8 G sharp equivalent 9 Hardware store buys 10 Word on the Canadian province list 11 Grand __ Opry 12 Sulks 13 Milky gemstones 14 Say no to a negotiator 15 Art Deco designer 16 Sailboat pole 18 Box opener of myth 19 Small swimsuits 23 Common billing period 24 Pitching great Ryan 29 Golf standard 31 Between ports 32 Wild thing 33 Keeps out 35 Formally charge 36 Whitman of verse 38 Icicle hangout 39 Deuce beater 41 Trapped by routine 42 Highly competitive 43 Justice Kagan 44 Wearing footwear 45 “Mass” news sources 46 Bit of a cloud 47 Admired figure 48 Demolish 54 Geoffrey of fashion 55 Hard bread 57 Field measure 58 It may be beaten in court 59 Skillful 61 Take a picture 63 Central Rome attraction 64 Spoke hoarsely 66 Genuine 67 Nothing more than 69 “As a bonus …” 73 Sort of peninsula 74 Region bordering the Rhine 75 Port of Hawaii 76 Gladiator costuming 77 Gourmet mushroom 79 TiVo ancestors 80 What Mama Bear’s bed was 81 Car-trim materials 85 Resort near Provincetown 86 Moray hunter 88 Cook in oil 91 Tyke 92 Free from worry 94 Repaired, as a boot 95 Blissful spots 96 Swan cousin 97 Dates with MDs 98 __ Hopkins University 99 Barber’s sharpener 100List-ending letters 101 Rooster or ram 102 Squirrel shade 103 Wild guess 106 Low grade 107 Lobster __ Diavolo 108 Rugged auto, for short Last week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” © 2024 Creators Syndicate. All rights reserved. p For inter uz active puzzles a zl nd games g e i o to chicagot sl ribune.com/ an games d Scan QR code to play online. By The Mepham Group©2024. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. All rights reserved. Sudoku Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box in bold borders contains every digit 1 to 9. Level: Last week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” 4/28 Across 1 Luminescent gems 6 Fish head? 10 “Who Let the Dogs Out” group __ Men 14 Act extempore 19 Lear daughter 20 Breakfast scramble 21 Some deleted contacts 22 Enlightenment philosopherThomas 23 Poorly put together trays? 26 Mary-in-mourning piece 27 Marshmallow Man in “Ghostbusters” 28 Capital of Tibet 29 Literary whaler 30 Start and end of a faceoff? 31 __ of strength 32 Boyfriend 33 Rap’s Snoop __ 37 God destined to slay the sea serpent Jörmungandr 39 Donkeys who got caught in the rain? 45 “Snowy” bird 47 Ice rink leap 49 Self-satisfied 50 Bankrupt 51 Pews? 54 Sacred text 55 BobintheBasketball Hall ofFame 56 Dutch painter Frans 57 Pat Benatar’s “Love __ Battlefield” 59 Historicspacestation 60 Stern direction? 61 Stinging insect 62 Dorky one 64 Picnic pest 65 “We all see the obvioushere, right?,” andhow to make six long answers inthis puzzlematchtheir clues? 70 Citrusy suffix 71 Piccata bud 72 Marine mammal in a matrilineal group 73 Anti-fraud org. 74 Bear’s lair 75 Reddit forum for inquiries 76 Early educ. 77 Potent potion 81 Purple or greenherb 83 Khakiworkuniform? 88 Checkout unit 89 Waffle __ 90 Identical 91 Spine-chilling 92 Request from one who prefers dry mashed potatoes? 96 95-Down beds, maybe 98 Talk back to 99 Yule tune 100“No problem!” 102 Spy org. 104Surreptitious one 107 French composer Gabriel 109 Former police procedural starring Kathryn Morris 114 Jazz great Armstrong 115 Energy supplies that are just OK? 117 “You mean a lot to me” 118 “This __ fair” 119 Pool table fabric 120 Tempts 121 Yearned (for) 122 Flight nos. 123 Takes a load off 124 “Thus ... ” Down 1 Fantasy baddies 2 Impudent 3 Tlaxcala water 4 Pop’s __ Gaga 5 Dig (at) 6 Toque 7 Paying strict attention 8 Comm. system with visual cues 9 Beluga, e.g. 10 Gets feedback from an early audience 11 Weapons thrown at targets, in some social settings 12 Greek goddess of childbirth 13 Beast of burden 14 Seem (to be) 15 Rum co*cktail 16 In __ of 17 Engrossed by 18 Drop of sweat 24 Clump of hair 25 Defrost 29 Word that may be replaced by a slash 31 NPR show hosted by Terry Gross 32 Open carriages 33 Lily-Rose __ of “The Idol” 34 Fantasy baddie 35 Determination 36 Location metadata 38 Skin care brand 40 “Ew, stop sharing” 41 Steamed bite 42 Abolitionist Harriet 43 Conditioning, as a bamboo cutting board 44 Hägar’s dog 46 Like some glasses 48 Path of __ resistance 52 Gp. concerned with crashes 53 Swiss instrument traditionally made from red pine 54 Pastel shade 58 Ocean floor 61 “Raw” org. 62 Puckered expression in a selfie 63 Iga Swiatek’s org. 65 Conceptualize 66 More on edge 67 __ awareness 68 Twistable cookies 69 Birds mummified in ancient Egypt 70 Madison Ave. industry 76 Ensembles associated with Hillary Clinton 78 Bonus, in 70-Down lingo 79 “Bearded” flower 80 Marbled breads 82 “Try to stop me now!” 84 Nickname that drops -ing 85 French pronoun 86 “TBH” kin 87 Actual expenditures 93 Gave a boost 94 Film critic Reed 95 Steppes tent 97 Rural tower 101 Underwater ecosystems 103 “Mrs. America” Emmy winner Uzo 104Marina space 105 Centers 106Currency also known as the renminbi 107 Rock, in Rock, Paper, Scissors 108 __MaeBullock:Tina Turner’s birthname 109 Gaul or Breton 110 Ocean Spray prefix 111 Base’s chemical opposite 112 Complete groups 113 Provincial petrol provider 115 Old-timey “ugh” 116 Camping gear co-op Last week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” © 2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Jumble Unscramble the six Jumbles, one letter per square, to form six words. Then arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by this cartoon. By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek. © 2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. All rights reserved. PlayJumble.com This week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” 4/28 Obviously! By Chandi deitmer edited By Patti Varol 2 Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024
Dogs of C-Kennel By Mick and Mason Mastroianni Take It From the Tinkersons By Bill Bettwy FoxTrot By Bill Amend Blondie By Dean Young and John Marshall Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 3
Dustin By Steve Kelley and Jeff Parker The Lockhorns By Bunny Hoest and John Reiner 4 Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024
Bits and Pieces By Charles Preston Across 1 Defect 5 College gps. 10 Timid souls 14 One oftheAndersons 15 Zodiac sign 16 Earth sci. 17 Loose, at times 18 It’s ___! 19 Disguise 20 Sahara, e.g. 22 Brief periods 24 Leave out 25 Part of a place setting 26 Knickknack place 28 Idea 32 Irish playwright Geraldine ___ 33 “TheCrying Game” actor Stephen 34 Sonata movement 35 Day of relax. 36 Facialfeatures 39 Hanoi new year celebration 40 Fantail locale 42 Slip up 43 ___ Sampras 44 So far 46 “___ Digest” 48 Tears apart 50 “The ___ with the Dragon Tattoo” 51 Pomme ___ 54 Curriculum vitae 57 Semite 58 Alpha and ___ 61 Redolence 62 Puccini role 63 Light purple 64 Roman emperor 65 “Dennis the Menace” is one 66 Rural steps 67 Retired mach breakers Down 1 Skedaddled 2 Isolated 3 Diarist Pepys’ sign-off 4 Magus 5 Sycophancy 6 Make free 7 Simpson’s grandfather 8 The Little ___: Chaplin 9 Barroom 10 Souvenir 11 “I think ___” 12 Outlay 13 Part of PBOE 21 Oil field equipment 23 Heaths 25 Driveway materials 26 Muse of mime 27 Jambo follower 29 Brief musical moments 30 “Waiting for Lefty” author 31 Staff symbol 32 Exec’s aide 36 Keyboard command 37 Indignation 38 Acceleration contest 41 Luncheon entree 43 Individuals 45 Joins: var. 47 Do or ___ 49 Resign 51 Like some cellars 52 Part of HOMES 53 Scots’ caps 55 Death, in Marseille 56 PiccadillyCircus figure 59 Retired Manning QB 60 Liquid meas. Last week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” © 2024 Creators News Service. 1. Define clues, writing in Words column over numbered dashes. 2. Transfer letters to numbered squares in diagram. 3. When pattern is completed, quotation can be read left to right. The first letters of the filled-in words reading down form an acrostic yielding the speaker’s name and the topic of the quotation. Clues Words Quote-Acrostic 4/28 Last week’s answers can be found in today’s “Puzzle Island Solutions.” By D. A. Klehr. Edited by Linda Preston. © 2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. All rights reserved. “FINISHING TOUCHES” Last week’s crosswords “Getting in the Way” “Lo and Behold” This week’s Jumble JILL LEPORE: DICKENS IN EDEN: For a very long time critics, Poe being just one of the few exceptions, dismissed Dickens as a caricaturist: facetious, melodramatic, antic, clumsy and, on political questions, dangerously out of his depth. Last week’s Quote-Acrostic Last week’s Sudoku island puzzle solutions Today’sbirthday (April 28): Go for your heart’s desire this year. Steady teamwork can move mountains. Articulate your mission statement and plans this summer. Autumn energizes your social life. Slow to adapt around winter health or work challenges, before springtime unfolds into fun and romance. Reach for the stars. Aries (March 21-April 19):Today is an 8. Travel entices.Where do you wantto go? Stick to reliable routes, transport and connections. Favor advance preparation over spontaneity. Study options. Make reservations. Taurus (April 20-May 20): 9. Manage financial responsibilities with your partner. Confirm intuition with data. Revise the budget for the current situation. Coordinate action plans. Conserve energy and resources. Gemini(May 21-June 20): 8. Listen and learn your partner’s vision. Share fantasies, passions and dreams. Collaboration lightens the load and makes everything more fun. Love is fundamental. Cancer (June 21-July 22): 9. Good food and exercise energizes you. Practice your technique and moves. Stretch to grow stronger. Focus to sidestep obstacles. Rest deeply and well after. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): 9. Relax and romance breezes right in. Spend time with someone who shares your heart. Wear something fun and go out to play together. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): 8. Invest in fixing up your place. Make repairs and renovations. Listen to the family to work out priorities. Stick to practical, durable solutions. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): 8. Dig into a fascinating story. An answer you’ve been looking for reveals itself. New facts dispel old fears. Research and unveil. Write your discoveries. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): 8. Get stuff appraised. Buy and sell. Profitable opportunities develop. Sign contracts and perform your magic. Submit invoices, deliverables and thanks. Grow your savings. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): 9. Get into a personal project. Nurture yourself and prepare your style for upcoming spotlights. Advance a cause close to your heart. Contribute for love. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): 7. Quiet time soothes your spirit. Meditate on upcoming plans. What’s missing? Listen carefully to outside requests. Breathe deeply. Release stress. Relax and consider. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): 8. Teamwork gets results. Share what you’re learning with friends. Discuss dreams and ambitions. Consider and speculate on new possibilities. Articulate an inspiring vision. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): 8. Your work is attracting attention. Prepare your presentation. Get your ducks in a row. Do the backstage work for high performance. You’re gaining influence. — Nancy Black, Tribune Content Agency Horoscopes Q.1—Neither vulnerable, as South, you hold: ♠ Q 1084 ♥ KJ7 ♦ A J ♣ A J 8 6 Right-hand opponent opens 1NT,15-17. What call would you make? Q.2—North-South vulnerable, as South, you hold: ♠ Q 10 ♥ 9 ♦ AK1075 ♣ AKQ64 South West North East 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass ? What call would you make? Q.3—East-West vulnerable, as South, you hold: ♠ AQ43 ♥ 874 ♦ K87 ♣ 975 Partner opens 1S and right-hand opponent doubles. What call would you make? Q.4—Both vulnerable, as South, you hold: ♠ KJ65 ♥ A74 ♦ J63 ♣ A 10 9 North East South West 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass ? What call would you make? Answers in Monday’s comics pages. — Bob Jones Tribune ContentAgency Bridge This game challenges you to find as many words as you can, as quickly as you can, in one master word. XENOPHOBE (ZEE-nofobe): One unduly fearful of things or people of foreign origin. Can you find 20 or more words in XENOPHOBE? Averagemark: 16 words Timelimit: 30 minutes Here aretherules: 1.Words must be four or more letters. 2.Words that acquire four letters by the addition of an“s,” such as“bats”and “cats,” are not used. 3. Use only one form of a verb — either“pose”or“posed,”not both. 4. Proper nouns and slang terms are not used. Answers totheword game: oboe; nope; o; xp ; e ebon on; pe n; ee ; p en ox open; ; pooh e; pon ne; ho ; p be phoe ; hope hoop; e; hon hobo; boon bone; p; ee ; b en be Word Game — Kathleen Saxe, distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication for UFS Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024 5
Mutts By Patrick McDonnell The Middletons By Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers Prickly City By Scott Stantis Doonesbury By Garry Trudeau 6 Chicago Tribune | Section 9 | Sunday, April 28, 2024
