Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social
drifter/writer on architecture, culture and Chicago, photographer specializing in out-of-focus images. there will be posts on opera, apologies in advance.
The AMA Building, four blocks away, is reflecting light from the setting sun into my apartment.
February 12, 2026 at 11:11 PM
The AMA Building, four blocks away, is reflecting light from the setting sun into my apartment.
Could plexiglas saloon door gates be the answer to fare evasion? San Francisco's BART claims a $10 million revenue gain, even more from drop in vandalism, as vandals rarely pay fares.
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
BART’s long fight against fare evasion is finally paying off. Here’s how much
BART’s new Plexiglass fare gates generate an estimated $10 million annually for the beleaguered transit agency, and have saved 961 hours in maintenance work, according to staff reports.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Could plexiglas saloon door gates be the answer to fare evasion? San Francisco's BART claims a $10 million revenue gain, even more from drop in vandalism, as vandals rarely pay fares.
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
For Architectural Record, Grace Kuth looks at Rogers Krajnak Architects' restoration of Louise Sullivan's Home Association Bank in Newark, Ohio. Photos by Brad Feinknopf.
www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/180...
www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/180...
February 12, 2026 at 6:53 PM
For Architectural Record, Grace Kuth looks at Rogers Krajnak Architects' restoration of Louise Sullivan's Home Association Bank in Newark, Ohio. Photos by Brad Feinknopf.
www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/180...
www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/180...
AI Paradise be like: Buy the beautiful new Cadillac Escalade at a price you can afford! (motor not included)
www.extremetech.com/computing/pc...
www.extremetech.com/computing/pc...
PCs Now Sold Without RAM to Avoid Memory Price Hikes
Maingear and Paradox are both selling systems without memory, and other system builders may follow.
www.extremetech.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:42 PM
AI Paradise be like: Buy the beautiful new Cadillac Escalade at a price you can afford! (motor not included)
www.extremetech.com/computing/pc...
www.extremetech.com/computing/pc...
Linnea tour boat negotiating ice on the Chicago River
February 11, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Linnea tour boat negotiating ice on the Chicago River
And speaking of Columbian Model & Exhibit Works, be sure to visit their website, before it disappears, to get a look at their spectacular work, including for the Obama Presidential Center.
www.cmew.biz/cmew/archite...
www.cmew.biz/cmew/archite...
February 11, 2026 at 7:40 PM
And speaking of Columbian Model & Exhibit Works, be sure to visit their website, before it disappears, to get a look at their spectacular work, including for the Obama Presidential Center.
www.cmew.biz/cmew/archite...
www.cmew.biz/cmew/archite...
Technology marches on. Time takes it toll. Still sad that Cathy Tinker's Columbian Model & Exhibit Works is shutting down. They reproduced much of Chicago's most prominent buildings at eighth-inch scale. Virtuality sucks.
www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...
www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...
After three decades building Chicago's miniature skyline, this model-maker is closing up shop
Cathy Tinker is closing Columbian Models & Exhibit Works, which since the 90s has been making miniatures of condo towers, townhouses and even the sprawling model of the city at the Chicago Architectur...
www.chicagobusiness.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Technology marches on. Time takes it toll. Still sad that Cathy Tinker's Columbian Model & Exhibit Works is shutting down. They reproduced much of Chicago's most prominent buildings at eighth-inch scale. Virtuality sucks.
www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...
www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...
If you're in DC on the 20th, the National Building Museum is hosting a panel on the development of the chicago Riverwalk that include creators Carol Ross Barney and Michelle Woods, and Chicago Planning Commissioner Ciera Boatright.
nbm.ticketapp.org/portal/produ...
nbm.ticketapp.org/portal/produ...
February 11, 2026 at 12:08 AM
If you're in DC on the 20th, the National Building Museum is hosting a panel on the development of the chicago Riverwalk that include creators Carol Ross Barney and Michelle Woods, and Chicago Planning Commissioner Ciera Boatright.
nbm.ticketapp.org/portal/produ...
nbm.ticketapp.org/portal/produ...
Canada built the bridge. Canada paid for the construction. Canada will operate the bridge. Canada, with Michigan, own the bridge. So now, of course, our gangster President comes along to demand his cut, and protect the monopoly interests of a big donor.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Trump seeks cut of Gordie Howe bridge tolls, raising questions about donor influence
The administration of President Donald Trump reportedly said Tuesday that the permit and agreement governing the Gordie Howe International Bridge between the U.S. and Canada needed to be renegotiated ...
www.yahoo.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Canada built the bridge. Canada paid for the construction. Canada will operate the bridge. Canada, with Michigan, own the bridge. So now, of course, our gangster President comes along to demand his cut, and protect the monopoly interests of a big donor.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Our current dilemma explained, in a nutshell:
"America employs about 280,590 public-relations specialists, an increase of 69 percent over the past two decades. (They outnumber journalists almost 7 to 1.)
From a fascinating deep dive on AI, jobs, and the future.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
"America employs about 280,590 public-relations specialists, an increase of 69 percent over the past two decades. (They outnumber journalists almost 7 to 1.)
From a fascinating deep dive on AI, jobs, and the future.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
America Isn’t Ready for What AI Will Do to Jobs
Does anyone have a plan for what happens next?
www.theatlantic.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Our current dilemma explained, in a nutshell:
"America employs about 280,590 public-relations specialists, an increase of 69 percent over the past two decades. (They outnumber journalists almost 7 to 1.)
From a fascinating deep dive on AI, jobs, and the future.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
"America employs about 280,590 public-relations specialists, an increase of 69 percent over the past two decades. (They outnumber journalists almost 7 to 1.)
From a fascinating deep dive on AI, jobs, and the future.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Meanwhile, Norman Rockwell makes his first appearance in Art Institute of Chicago galleries. (Maybe first sighting of the Cubs as well?)
chicago.suntimes.com/art/2026/02/...
chicago.suntimes.com/art/2026/02/...
The Art Institute of Chicago just hung its first Norman Rockwell, and it depicts the Cubs
"The Dugout," a famed piece of American art, is a gift to the museum from the private collection of former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. It will neighbor “American Gothic,” already a major attraction.
chicago.suntimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Meanwhile, Norman Rockwell makes his first appearance in Art Institute of Chicago galleries. (Maybe first sighting of the Cubs as well?)
chicago.suntimes.com/art/2026/02/...
chicago.suntimes.com/art/2026/02/...
Driehaus Museum announces new acquisitions, including, Clusmann's early 20th portrait of Michigan and Adams, and Fredric Edwin Church's Mountain Landscape, now in the same room where it hung 120 years ago.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uh71z...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uh71z...
February 10, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Driehaus Museum announces new acquisitions, including, Clusmann's early 20th portrait of Michigan and Adams, and Fredric Edwin Church's Mountain Landscape, now in the same room where it hung 120 years ago.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uh71z...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uh71z...
Landmarks Illinois today announced a $5,000 emergency grant to repair a boiler at Schlossman and Bennett's Chicago Loop Synagogue, a landmark-quality building contending with declining membership.
www.landmarks.org/press-room/e...
www.landmarks.org/press-room/e...
February 10, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Landmarks Illinois today announced a $5,000 emergency grant to repair a boiler at Schlossman and Bennett's Chicago Loop Synagogue, a landmark-quality building contending with declining membership.
www.landmarks.org/press-room/e...
www.landmarks.org/press-room/e...
This is actually a pretty good synopsis of Verdi’s Don Carlo, four act version - and pretty cool and engaging.
youtu.be/9cy7fbWXBGc
youtu.be/9cy7fbWXBGc
Verdi's 'Don Carlo' Synopsis with TDO's Amy O'Neil
YouTube video by thedallasopera
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 AM
This is actually a pretty good synopsis of Verdi’s Don Carlo, four act version - and pretty cool and engaging.
youtu.be/9cy7fbWXBGc
youtu.be/9cy7fbWXBGc
And a reminder of what we threw away.
February 10, 2026 at 2:28 AM
And a reminder of what we threw away.
Truly shocking: Artist Judy Chicago's tale in Artnet of working with Google on the redesign of the former Thompson Center atrium is a horror story - incompetent, slipshod management meets corporate bureaucracy on steroids...
news.artnet.com/art-world/ju...
news.artnet.com/art-world/ju...
February 10, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Truly shocking: Artist Judy Chicago's tale in Artnet of working with Google on the redesign of the former Thompson Center atrium is a horror story - incompetent, slipshod management meets corporate bureaucracy on steroids...
news.artnet.com/art-world/ju...
news.artnet.com/art-world/ju...
63% of U.S. population lives within Custom and Border Protection's border zone, "a kind of constitution-free zone," where border agents "are allowed to nullify people's rights."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Who Lives in the U.S. 'Border Zone'? Probably, You.
All of Michigan, D.C., and a large chunk of Pennsylvania are part of the area where Border Patrol has expanded search and seizure rights. Here's what it means to live or travel there.
www.bloomberg.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:54 PM
63% of U.S. population lives within Custom and Border Protection's border zone, "a kind of constitution-free zone," where border agents "are allowed to nullify people's rights."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
New, generic-looking entrance canopy at the Loop Googleplex, former Thompson Center.
February 9, 2026 at 8:24 PM
New, generic-looking entrance canopy at the Loop Googleplex, former Thompson Center.
How many symphony conductors have a Super Bowl appearance on their resume? Grant Park Festival Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero leads the pickup band for Bad Bunny.
youtu.be/ZCATwyOuPb0?...
youtu.be/ZCATwyOuPb0?...
Giancarlo Guerrero on 2026 Super Bowl
YouTube video by Grant Park Music Festival
youtu.be
February 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
How many symphony conductors have a Super Bowl appearance on their resume? Grant Park Festival Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero leads the pickup band for Bad Bunny.
youtu.be/ZCATwyOuPb0?...
youtu.be/ZCATwyOuPb0?...
They’r still gonna honor the coupons when the Googleplex opens, right?
February 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM
They’r still gonna honor the coupons when the Googleplex opens, right?
It's all a grift, and it's all in the family. If your name's Trump, Kushner or Witkoff, you make out like bandits - no, correction, AS bandits. If you don't have that magic provenance, the sucker at the table is probably you.
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
One Generation Runs the Country. The Next Cashed In on Crypto.
Sons of top Trump administration officials made billions for their families, but their investors didn’t always fare so well.
www.wsj.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:31 PM
It's all a grift, and it's all in the family. If your name's Trump, Kushner or Witkoff, you make out like bandits - no, correction, AS bandits. If you don't have that magic provenance, the sucker at the table is probably you.
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
Paddock must have some good assets to strip if Alden is so hot on acquiring it.
February 8, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Paddock must have some good assets to strip if Alden is so hot on acquiring it.