Adam Selzer
@adamchicago.bsky.social
historian, author, and tour guide. I talk about Bob Dylan, Chicago stuff, old time true crime, and cemetery stories. There's a canon Star Wars character named after me. He/him mysteriouschicago.com , patreon.com/adamchicago
This really sounds like someone who read my novel "Banshee '94" and got just what I wanted them to out of it. But I'm sure it's just a "good review" generated by AI. It's from a "pay me to promote your book" guy. I get about 5 of these a day, mostly for out-of-print titles.
November 26, 2025 at 11:54 PM
This really sounds like someone who read my novel "Banshee '94" and got just what I wanted them to out of it. But I'm sure it's just a "good review" generated by AI. It's from a "pay me to promote your book" guy. I get about 5 of these a day, mostly for out-of-print titles.
My annual reminder that the point of Thanksgiving is not to celebrate the pilgrims or any of that crap; Lincoln never mentioned them once in his proclamation. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for Union victories.
(Well, in Chicago, it was mostly about getting sloshed as of 1870).
(Well, in Chicago, it was mostly about getting sloshed as of 1870).
November 26, 2025 at 1:07 PM
My annual reminder that the point of Thanksgiving is not to celebrate the pilgrims or any of that crap; Lincoln never mentioned them once in his proclamation. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for Union victories.
(Well, in Chicago, it was mostly about getting sloshed as of 1870).
(Well, in Chicago, it was mostly about getting sloshed as of 1870).
Tomorrow night's virtual tour: Shopping History in Chicago. Featuring my favorite ad of all time, from just after the Union took Richmond back.... www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-to...
November 26, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Tomorrow night's virtual tour: Shopping History in Chicago. Featuring my favorite ad of all time, from just after the Union took Richmond back.... www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-to...
All respect to Mark Kelly but I’ve replied “stop” to about 5 fundraising texts from him today. (I always reply stop to texts, even from people for whom I’m knocking doors. I hate marketing texts).
November 26, 2025 at 12:25 AM
All respect to Mark Kelly but I’ve replied “stop” to about 5 fundraising texts from him today. (I always reply stop to texts, even from people for whom I’m knocking doors. I hate marketing texts).
Reposted by Adam Selzer
The depositions from the batshit CBP and ICE officials in Chicago have been unsealed. Here's how Russ Hott denied actually knowing anything about one of the weirder claims they made: that a protestor had ripped someone's beard off.
legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The depositions from the batshit CBP and ICE officials in Chicago have been unsealed. Here's how Russ Hott denied actually knowing anything about one of the weirder claims they made: that a protestor had ripped someone's beard off.
legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
“A Christmas Carol” was written strictly because Charles Dickens needed some money, but it really is Dickens at his best. Like Prince’s “Purple Rain,” it’s an example of him mastering a gift that often seemed to be mastering him.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 AM
“A Christmas Carol” was written strictly because Charles Dickens needed some money, but it really is Dickens at his best. Like Prince’s “Purple Rain,” it’s an example of him mastering a gift that often seemed to be mastering him.
“‘No reason to get excited, Charlie Brown,’ the thief he kindly spoke.”
November 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM
“‘No reason to get excited, Charlie Brown,’ the thief he kindly spoke.”
Watching Wicked: For Good after seeing the stage show MANY times felt like finally seeing Return of the Jedi when I was 4 after only knowing the “book and tape” set, finally seeing all the details of the story (also a broom chase scene is about shot for shot the speeder bike chase).
November 22, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Watching Wicked: For Good after seeing the stage show MANY times felt like finally seeing Return of the Jedi when I was 4 after only knowing the “book and tape” set, finally seeing all the details of the story (also a broom chase scene is about shot for shot the speeder bike chase).
If you throw the bouquet and no one catches it because the groom shot it down, you might be a redneck.
Colton Moore is the state senator for Greene’s district. My guess is he’s probably going to run for her seat. From his wedding …
November 22, 2025 at 3:36 AM
If you throw the bouquet and no one catches it because the groom shot it down, you might be a redneck.
Reposted by Adam Selzer
Saying Jesse Welles is just like Bob Dylan is the new "this is like an Onion headline" in that it mostly tells you that the person saying it has no idea what Bob Dylan/The Onion actually does
fwiw I like Jesse Wells just fine but he's way more like Phil Ochs than Bob Dylan
August 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Saying Jesse Welles is just like Bob Dylan is the new "this is like an Onion headline" in that it mostly tells you that the person saying it has no idea what Bob Dylan/The Onion actually does
Reposted by Adam Selzer
Wrote this more than 25 years ago and still might be my favorite story ever....
Does everyone know this Jacob Bernstein lore? archive.seattletimes.com/archive/1999...
November 20, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Wrote this more than 25 years ago and still might be my favorite story ever....
Reposted by Adam Selzer
50 years ago today, this photo of the Chicago press conference for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was taken.
In the background you can see Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert — in the clothes they wore in the Siskel & Ebert pilot, which was also shot that same day.
In the background you can see Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert — in the clothes they wore in the Siskel & Ebert pilot, which was also shot that same day.
November 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
50 years ago today, this photo of the Chicago press conference for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was taken.
In the background you can see Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert — in the clothes they wore in the Siskel & Ebert pilot, which was also shot that same day.
In the background you can see Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert — in the clothes they wore in the Siskel & Ebert pilot, which was also shot that same day.
Reposted by Adam Selzer
Okay, I'm making my case for the only Muppet I want to see on Broadway right now...
November 19, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Okay, I'm making my case for the only Muppet I want to see on Broadway right now...
I liked Glasgow; I was all set to agree with people that it seemed like a UK Chicago until I saw this:
November 18, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I liked Glasgow; I was all set to agree with people that it seemed like a UK Chicago until I saw this:
Dylan in Glasgow night 2: Dylan turns “My Own Version of You” into a Tom Waits brawler. open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Bob Dylan in Glasgow: Night 2
The walks I took when I first arrived in Glasgow were sort of back ways through industrial areas.
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Dylan in Glasgow night 2: Dylan turns “My Own Version of You” into a Tom Waits brawler. open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Bob Dylan in Glasgow night one (and a night in Dumfries): “Whatever it is that possesses Bob took possession….”
Truly magical night with “My Own Version of You” sounding like a zombie pirate sea shanty, a spontaneous reimagining. My review/travelogue.
open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Truly magical night with “My Own Version of You” sounding like a zombie pirate sea shanty, a spontaneous reimagining. My review/travelogue.
open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Bob Dylan: First Night in Glasgow (and a night in Dumfries)
Glasgow 1
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Bob Dylan in Glasgow night one (and a night in Dumfries): “Whatever it is that possesses Bob took possession….”
Truly magical night with “My Own Version of You” sounding like a zombie pirate sea shanty, a spontaneous reimagining. My review/travelogue.
open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Truly magical night with “My Own Version of You” sounding like a zombie pirate sea shanty, a spontaneous reimagining. My review/travelogue.
open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Well today I found a cast of Robert Burns’s skull, lost a game of dominos, bombed at karaoke, learned the old Scots word for hedgehog (Hurchin), and got chewed out about Donald Trump by a guy whose teeth looked like coffee grounds. All in all, pretty packed day in Dumfries, Scotland.
November 15, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Well today I found a cast of Robert Burns’s skull, lost a game of dominos, bombed at karaoke, learned the old Scots word for hedgehog (Hurchin), and got chewed out about Donald Trump by a guy whose teeth looked like coffee grounds. All in all, pretty packed day in Dumfries, Scotland.
Bob Dylan: Rainy Night in Leeds (my review). open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Bob Dylan: A Rainy Night in Leeds
“I remember it rained all day the day that Elvis Presley died.
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Bob Dylan: Rainy Night in Leeds (my review). open.substack.com/pub/adamchic...
Dylan in Coventry last night, after living through Desolation Row at home (my review). open.substack.com/pub/dylanliv...
Review: Bob Dylan in Coventry (by Adam Selzer)
Plus Swansea two days before
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Dylan in Coventry last night, after living through Desolation Row at home (my review). open.substack.com/pub/dylanliv...
Reposted by Adam Selzer
Vice President of the United States literally out here using Nazi-era lebensraum rhetoric.
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Vice President of the United States literally out here using Nazi-era lebensraum rhetoric.
What a score in Coventry! Top of my want list for years; you almost never see it on vinyl, especially at a decent price!
November 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
What a score in Coventry! Top of my want list for years; you almost never see it on vinyl, especially at a decent price!
Here in the UK Epstein is front page news…. Wonder how a newsstand would look in the states (or when I last saw such a thing).
November 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Here in the UK Epstein is front page news…. Wonder how a newsstand would look in the states (or when I last saw such a thing).
Reposted by Adam Selzer
You cannot convince me that this is the BBC and not a fucking Monty Python skit.
youtu.be/53w9E774fGE?...
youtu.be/53w9E774fGE?...
1973: The MUHAMMAD ALI of MARBLES | Nationwide | Classic BBC Sport | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 AM
You cannot convince me that this is the BBC and not a fucking Monty Python skit.
youtu.be/53w9E774fGE?...
youtu.be/53w9E774fGE?...
They’re selling postcards of the hanging…
The most horrifying AI slop of ICE raids you can possibly imagine is wildly viral on Facebook, collectively totaling tens of millions of views from a single account. First spotted by @chadloder.bsky.social
www.404media.co/ai-generated...
www.404media.co/ai-generated...
AI-Generated Videos of ICE Raids Are Wildly Viral on Facebook
An account is spamming horrific, dehumanizing videos of immigration enforcement because the Facebook algorithm is rewarding them for it.
www.404media.co
November 12, 2025 at 7:50 PM
They’re selling postcards of the hanging…
On a train in Wales, listening to teenage dirtbags calling each other unpleasant names and threatening to fight each other.
November 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
On a train in Wales, listening to teenage dirtbags calling each other unpleasant names and threatening to fight each other.