Me with Ben Hecht’s Oscar last week @newberrylibrary.bsky.social. He won it as screenwriter for 1927’s Underworld. Yes, he used it as a doorstop. #filmsky
November 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Me with Ben Hecht’s Oscar last week @newberrylibrary.bsky.social. He won it as screenwriter for 1927’s Underworld. Yes, he used it as a doorstop. #filmsky
Who doesn’t want to curl up for a nap on a gloomy fall day? 🌱 🪴
November 8, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Who doesn’t want to curl up for a nap on a gloomy fall day? 🌱 🪴
Always be birding and you might see something new! These House Sparrows were rummaging and scratching through some leaves just like a White-throated Sparrow might do. Not sure what they were finding - worms? seeds? - but it must have been delicious. On a very urban corner here in town. 🦉
November 5, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Always be birding and you might see something new! These House Sparrows were rummaging and scratching through some leaves just like a White-throated Sparrow might do. Not sure what they were finding - worms? seeds? - but it must have been delicious. On a very urban corner here in town. 🦉
Asters still in bloom at Montrose Beach Dunes, Chicago, last week. 🌱 🪴
November 5, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Asters still in bloom at Montrose Beach Dunes, Chicago, last week. 🌱 🪴
Throwback to a very foggy day on Halloween three years ago. I was passing through a small town and there was a merry go round spinning and spinning and no one in sight. 😱
October 31, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Throwback to a very foggy day on Halloween three years ago. I was passing through a small town and there was a merry go round spinning and spinning and no one in sight. 😱
Spotted cucumber beetle. 🪲 🪴 🌱
October 31, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Spotted cucumber beetle. 🪲 🪴 🌱
Trying out a new lens on a backyard marigold. 🪴 🌱
October 27, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Trying out a new lens on a backyard marigold. 🪴 🌱
Johnson majored in mathematics and computer science. Jonson studied with leading scholars and poets. #historysky #medievalsky #bears
September 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Johnson majored in mathematics and computer science. Jonson studied with leading scholars and poets. #historysky #medievalsky #bears
Johnson’s parents were teachers. Jonson’s parents suffered forfeiture under Queen Mary. 👇
September 4, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Johnson’s parents were teachers. Jonson’s parents suffered forfeiture under Queen Mary. 👇
Johnson will be in the same division with his old boss. Jonson and Shakespeare had a sometimes strained relationship. 👇
September 4, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Johnson will be in the same division with his old boss. Jonson and Shakespeare had a sometimes strained relationship. 👇
Johnson was the hottest name on the coaching market. Jonson cast Shakespeare as an actor. 👇
September 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Johnson was the hottest name on the coaching market. Jonson cast Shakespeare as an actor. 👇
Ben Jonson was “the second greatest playwright” after Shakespeare, and Ben Johnson is the new Bears head coach who has everyone excited. Just to clear up any confusion 👇
September 4, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Ben Jonson was “the second greatest playwright” after Shakespeare, and Ben Johnson is the new Bears head coach who has everyone excited. Just to clear up any confusion 👇
Goodbye to the Damen Silos and a connection to a previous era in Chicago and the Midwest. Always a great place to go birding, around Bubbly Creek, Canalport Riverwalk and more. #canadagoose
July 19, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Goodbye to the Damen Silos and a connection to a previous era in Chicago and the Midwest. Always a great place to go birding, around Bubbly Creek, Canalport Riverwalk and more. #canadagoose
Thank you WGN and Spotlight Chicago for the opportunity to talk about the Newberry and the Winging It exhibition today. We covered a lot including Monty and Rose, the prairie chicken (should be Illinois state bird) and protecting endangered species. Thanks to hosts Sarah Jindra and Ji Suk Yi.
July 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Thank you WGN and Spotlight Chicago for the opportunity to talk about the Newberry and the Winging It exhibition today. We covered a lot including Monty and Rose, the prairie chicken (should be Illinois state bird) and protecting endangered species. Thanks to hosts Sarah Jindra and Ji Suk Yi.
A surprising visitor to the Newberry last week! A young peregrine falcon spent more than a day around the parking lot and the 2nd floor. Chicago Peregrine Program said there was nothing to worry about with Lizzy, which is the name of this young female. She was just out testing her wings. 🪶
July 3, 2025 at 2:15 PM
A surprising visitor to the Newberry last week! A young peregrine falcon spent more than a day around the parking lot and the 2nd floor. Chicago Peregrine Program said there was nothing to worry about with Lizzy, which is the name of this young female. She was just out testing her wings. 🪶
Hi all, the Winging It exhibition I’ve curated opens tomorrow and I’m looking forward to sharing it with the world. I’ll be in the gallery as much as possible tomorrow and Saturday from about 10am-4pm. I hope you have a chance to visit, runs through September 27 at the Newberry Library.
June 19, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Hi all, the Winging It exhibition I’ve curated opens tomorrow and I’m looking forward to sharing it with the world. I’ll be in the gallery as much as possible tomorrow and Saturday from about 10am-4pm. I hope you have a chance to visit, runs through September 27 at the Newberry Library.
Just a couple weeks ago we had this:
May 3, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Just a couple weeks ago we had this:
Mayapple season has quickly escalated. 🍏 🌱 🪴
May 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Mayapple season has quickly escalated. 🍏 🌱 🪴
Baltimore Orioles can’t resist this sweet setup. Now we wait for our first visit.
May 1, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Baltimore Orioles can’t resist this sweet setup. Now we wait for our first visit.
It’s May 1 and spring migration is near its peak so it is time to be cautious and recall this important insight. 🪶
May 1, 2025 at 1:23 PM
It’s May 1 and spring migration is near its peak so it is time to be cautious and recall this important insight. 🪶
Another item found with the Street Birds photos (1981) in the archives of @chicagoreader.com - a critique called The President’s Brain Is Missing, stating that editorialists were soon going to proclaim that “Reagan is just plain stupid.”
April 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Another item found with the Street Birds photos (1981) in the archives of @chicagoreader.com - a critique called The President’s Brain Is Missing, stating that editorialists were soon going to proclaim that “Reagan is just plain stupid.”
Here are more photos from “Street Birds,” the 1981 feature article in @chicagoreader.com
April 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Here are more photos from “Street Birds,” the 1981 feature article in @chicagoreader.com
In November 1981, the Reader published Street Birds, a big feature on pigeons, starlings, and sparrows. “They are mean, smart, and resourceful. They have to be—it’s a city out there.” Here’s a glossy print in the Newberry collection, by a photographer named Mike Tappin. cc @imleor.bsky.social
April 29, 2025 at 6:46 PM
In November 1981, the Reader published Street Birds, a big feature on pigeons, starlings, and sparrows. “They are mean, smart, and resourceful. They have to be—it’s a city out there.” Here’s a glossy print in the Newberry collection, by a photographer named Mike Tappin. cc @imleor.bsky.social
One of the local Great Blue Herons starts the day with a bit of preening, a nest is just below, about 40’ up in a tree. In the Chicago River floodplain. 🪶
April 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM
One of the local Great Blue Herons starts the day with a bit of preening, a nest is just below, about 40’ up in a tree. In the Chicago River floodplain. 🪶
Quite a large aquatic rodent here this evening on the Chicago River’s North Branch. 🦫
April 27, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Quite a large aquatic rodent here this evening on the Chicago River’s North Branch. 🦫